Dean Burmester finished his second round in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush with his second consecutive level-par 71 on Friday, and is almost certain to make the cut.

For Burmester, the challenge of the Open is one he always relishes, as it plays into one of the strengths of his game. “For me it’s long irons,” he said. “I really enjoy hitting my one- and two-iron off the tee. When I get to links golf, I start rubbing my hands together. I get really excited. Yeah, that’s my big strength.”

“I just think it plays into my hands. I can hit a one-iron out here crosswind over 300 yards, and other guys can’t do that. I feel like I have a big advantage here when the fairways firm up and it gets bouncy and windy. It comes out flat, pitches 260, and goes forever.

“Five, six years ago, I struggled with a three-wood. I still haven’t really found one that I’m very happy with. It’s just a backup club for me. I’ve always had it. We built one five, six years ago at like a Dunhill Links, somewhere like that, and I loved that. I built it. Just built it in the truck. The guys built me one, and I loved it.

“I think I finished seventh that week, and I’ve just hit a whole bunch of them all over those courses. Then St Andrews at the 150th Open, that’s pretty much all I hit. The fairways were so baked out, I didn’t even hit driver. Since then, it’s kind of just hung in the bag basically.”

It’s the one-iron that catches the attention, inspiring as it does a degree of awe and envy. It’s a mysterious club that people think no-one can hit, but Burmester used it a lot in his first round at Royal Portrush. “On the first hole, I hit two-iron on the first, little flight with a two-iron. Where did I hit one? I don’t know, I hit a few. Kind of back end of the back nine. Eight, I hit a one-iron. Where else did I hit? The drivable par-four, number five down the hill, I hit one-iron. Then 10 I hit one-iron. There’s a few. I don’t know.”

And it surprises some of his playing partners: “Some guys do comment on it,” he said. “Some guys are quite surprised how far it goes and kind of the flight it comes out with because I can hit it up. I can get it going up on the wind. It’s like a mini three-wood for me. I think some guys, not all guys. There wasn’t a lot of talking in our group today to be honest.”

While he’s a way off the lead yet, his skills with the long irons could play into his hands over the weekend.