Welsh golfer Stuart Manley was on the books of Cardiff City and Swansea City as a youngster and once had a trial at Manchester United.
But as he battles to regain a place on the DP World Tour, he says failing to make it in football was the “best thing that happened to me”.
At 44, Manley has played almost 250 events on the DP World Tour – formerly known as the European Tour – having held a card at the top level of European golf on eight occasions.
Currently playing on the second-tier Challenge Tour, Manley took a huge stride towards reclaiming a DP World Tour place next season thanks to victory at the Open de Bretagne last weekend.
“It’s been an average start to the season,” Manley tells BBC Sport Wales.
“But [the victory] elevates me now in the order of merit to get that golden ticket back to the DP World Tour, so I am very pleased.”
Manley, who lives in Aberdare, has been a professional golfer for two decades.
When he was a teenager, it seemed he might be set for a career in football.
“I went away and had a trial at [Manchester] United and I went up to Luton quite a few times,” Manley says.
“I also played for Cardiff and Swansea for a couple of seasons, around under-15 level.
“But I wasn’t good enough. When I didn’t get a YTS contract, that was probably the best thing that happened to me because I could really knuckle down in school and in golf.
“Golf was always my love so I threw myself into that. I did my A-levels, went away to America to do the golf scholarship and my golf blossomed from there.”
A Walker Cup winner in 2003, Manley turned professional later that year and quickly secured a first European Tour card via qualifying school.
He has progressed through qualifying school on six occasions in all, as well as booking a DP World Tour place twice through his performances on the Challenge Tour.
The frustration for Manley has been failing to keep hold of a place at European golf’s top table.
“I know I can compete out there,” he says, “but I haven’t done it consistently enough.”
As a result, Manley is among of number of Welsh golfers battling it out on this year’s Challenge Tour, where finishing in the top 20 come the end of the season will secure a DP World Tour place in 2024.
Manley’s win in Brittany – his first since 2021 and the fourth of his career on the Challenge Tour – saw him jump from 53rd in the rankings to 14th.
He put himself on course for victory thanks to a second round of 62, the lowest – as far as he can remember – of his tour career.
“To do that at 44, to still mix it with the youngsters, feels great,” Manley says.
“I was chuffed to bits especially as the course was very tough, which made it even more pleasing.”
He came through to win despite struggling for his best form over the weekend, with a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole securing a two-shot triumph over Lee Slattery and Manuel Elvira.
There was time for a quiet celebration on Sunday evening, beforecfocus very quickly turned to this week’s Challenge Tour event, which also takes place in France.
Manley will then return home to try to claim a place at next month’s Open Championship, via a 36-hole qualifying event taking place at Royal Porthcawl on Tuesday, 4 July.
He has played in only one major, the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale.
“I loved the Open,” Manley says. “I just want to get back there.”
The priority, however, is the Challenge Tour, meaning Manley will be travelling again straight after Porthcawl to take part in the Italian Challenge Open.
He plans to play most of the remaining events this year, with more ranking points required to cement a top-20 place.
Manley says professional golf becomes harder on the body as the years go by, with stretching routines a necessity before he swings a club these days.
But the desire to be in contention during the back nine on a Sunday remains as fierce as ever.
“You are aching a lot more than you used to,” Manley says.
“But I wouldn’t do anything else. I still get the buzz every week – I can’t wait to compete.”
