WE LEARNED WHAT BRAVERY MEANS

When Ash Turner developed a rare form of cerebral palsy after a freak childhood accident his parents turned to golf to help him improve his balance and coordination.

It helped their son regain control over his limbs, so much so that he competed in his first Open Championship at Carnoustie, having battled his way through regional and final qualifying events.

The now 22-year-old Englishman missed the cut with rounds of 78-77, but is ever thankful he can just walk onto a golf course.

“The main problem was that I couldn’t put my heel on the floor properly and would only walk on my toes. When I fell over, I wouldn’t put my hands out, so for the first three years at school I had to wear a crash helmet,” he said.

He added: “My dad had played a lot of golf when he was younger. And so my parents bought me some plastic clubs to see if it would help. And it did.”

Turner was given plastic golf clubs to improve his balance and coordination. PHOTO: Getty Images.

WE LEARNED REPUTATIONS MEAN NOTHING

Three of the top-5 players in the world – Dustin Johnson (1), Justin Thomas (2) and Jon Rahm (5) – missed the cut at Carnoustie.

Surprisingly, Rahm – having talked up his chances on the eve of the tournament – said he never really had a grasp of the championship so it could not be said that he let it slip away.

“What stings more is missing the cut the last two majors knowing how good I played at Augusta,” said Rahm, who added a 78 to his opening 69 to miss the cut by two strokes.

“It is what it is. At the end of the day, it is one more tournament. So I’m still pretty young. Hopefully, I’m going to be playing this for a long time, and I’m going to play a lot of major championships.”

Rahm is still learning how to approach the majors. PHOTO: Getty Images.

WE LEARNED ERIK VAN ROOYEN IS A PLAYER TO WATCH

South African Erik van Rooyen first grabbed our attention when Russell Knox beat him in a play-off at the Irish Open two weeks ago.

Up until recently he had been a journeyman pro but a player with his quality swing won’t be scrapping around on secondary Tours much longer.

The 28-year-old was right in the mix at six under through his opening two holes of the final round, but drifted back into a tie for 18th at two under.

He now has his sights set on making the International team for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne next year.

“I know next season I’m going to have a top five somewhere as well or get a win. So my goal is just to have it be closer to that time (when the captains’ picks are made) and get on the team,” van Rooyen said.

Erik van Rooyen is aiming to make the International team for the 2019 Presidents Cup. PHOTO: Getty Images.

WE LEARNED CAMERON DAVIS IS THE REAL DEAL

Aussie young gun Cameron Davis excelled at Carnoustie, finishing T39.

The Australian Open champion banked 17 birdies across the four rounds but handed too many shots back. His birdie haul was equalled by only two other players, Brooks Koepka and Open Champion Francesco Molinari.

Koepka played with Davis in the final round and was impressed with the 23-year-old.

“He understands what he’s doing,” Koepka said of Davis. “He flights it well and his short game seems to be pretty good too.

“So he’s got all the tools to make it. It’s about timing sometimes.”

Davis now heads back to the Web.com Tour where he hopes to finish in the top-25 on the money list and earn a promotion to the PGA Tour for next season.

Davis made 17 birdies across the four rounds at The Open. PHOTO: Getty Images.

WE LEARNED LUCAS HERBERT HAS MAJOR GAME

He started Open week pleading with British Airways to find his clubs lost in transit from Germany, and ended the week with a little bit more major experience under his belt.

The 22-year-old started the final day at two under after rounds of 73-69-69 and was hopeful of making an impression on the leaders with strong winds expected to add some bite to the Carnoustie layout.

However, two double bogies and four bogies on Sunday afternoon had him moving the wrong way on the leaderboard and he closed with a 77 to drop to a T51. This was just his second major championship in as many months and he’s already shown now he can handle being on the biggest of stages.

Herbert was disappointed with his final round but showed he can handle the pressure of major tournaments. PHOTO: Getty Images.