Philip Reid talks to the former Walker Cup star about his new status as a big time player and his work with coach Ewen Murray of Sky television

Friends can be so cruel. A couple of hours after his near miss in the British Open at Muirfield in July, Gary Evans, the man who could have won the claret jug but for a lost ball on his penultimate hole, received a text message from David Grice, a former tour player, who lives in Australia.

"I found a Titleist 2 in my back garden," it read. "Is it yours?"

It took a while for it all to sink in for Evans, but the period of mourning didn't last long, however.

"About six-and-a-half hours, which is how long it took me to drive home to Ascot," he said.

His close encounter, though, showed him what he could achieve.

These days, Evans' caddie refuses to put a Titleist 2 into the bag, and the superstition appears to be working.

Yesterday, Evans, who only played his way into the championship by leap-frogging a number of players on the moneylist in last week's German Masters, assumed the role of leading European player after shooting a 67 in the first round.

Since turning professional in 1991, just a couple of weeks after playing in the Walker Cup at Portmarnock, where he beat no less than David Duval in the singles, Evans has found life tough on the circuit.

Ironically, his debut season was his best - when he finished 35th on the Order of Merit and just missed out on the rookie of the year award - but, ever since, season after season has found him fighting to retain his card. Wins have proven to be elusive, but he is now playing his way into contention rather than fighting for survival.

Evans' new-found status as a big time player no longer surprises him.

"Obviously, I'm playing nicely and not doing a great deal wrong. I'm trying to win the darn thing. All these years I am just desperate to have a little silverware. I would just like to win one of these things," said Evans.

Much of his improvement he attributes to a switch to Ewen Murray, the Sky television commentator, as his coach.

"He's my strength really. He made me believe in myself again and told me I've got to work hard if I want to succeed. It takes a long time to get real confidence in your own ability and now I am feeling like I can compete at the highest level."

Indeed, Evans, who is playing in his first world championship event, admitted he took inspiration from the performance of Rich Beem at the US PGA.

"It was stunning how well he did under the circumstances. It shows other regular players that it can be done and that anyone can win a golf tournament these days. It isn't like 20 years ago where there were half a dozen guys who would fight it out every year.

"What Rich did proves to us all that we can win. I'm just a normal Joe Bloggs on the tour. I'm not a superstar. I can walk into restaurants and no one knows me. It's perfect. But I do want to win a tournament."

And, just like Beem, or Craig Parry, who won his first tournament in America at the recent NEC, another world championship event, Evans wouldn't mind making the breakthrough in a really big one.

"I am playing very solid. Hitting plenty of fairways, and plenty of greens. In fact, I'd say these greens are the best I have ever putted on in Europe."

Just as Portmarnock proved to be the high point of his amateur career, Evans would like Mount Juliet to provide him with the high point of his professional career.

There is still some way to go, however, and some notable names ahead of him, if he is to complete the job.