Jack Colegate believes his chances of qualifying for The Open are better than ever.

The Hoo professional, who plays out of Deangate Ridge, is through to the final qualifiers after winning through Monday’s regional preliminaries.

Colegate carded a round of 70 at the Moortown Golf Club in Leeds to finish just one shot behind the leader and claim a place at Deal’s Royal Cinque Ports on Tuesday.

It’s the third time the 22-year-old has reached this stage but after two-and-a-half years on the Europro Tour, he feels well equipped to make it through to St Andrews.

He said: “I’m looking forward to it and this is the first year that I feel I am good enough to get in. I’m excited.

“Those first two years I reached the final qualifiers I would say I was one of 40 players just trying to live the dream and thinking I was good enough. Looking back, I probably wasn’t.

“I’ve got two-and-a-half years behind me as a pro now. I’ve got some good experience behind me, I’ve had some good achievements and some decent rounds of golf.

“I don’t feel out of my depth like I would have done when I was 18-19 and an amateur.”