After dumping five balls in the water during nine holes of his practice round at the Open de France, qualifying for the Open Championship was the last thing on Callum Shinkwin's mind.

But the Moor Park golfer will be competing in his first major at Royal Troon next week after a memorable weekend in Paris saw him secure his place at the Open.

Shinkwin clinched his best result of the European Tour season after a superb weekend saw him finish in a tie for ninth.

The four highest finishing golfers in the top 12 in France, yet to qualify for the Open, were granted spots and Shinkwin's closing three-under par round of 68 earned his place at the third major of the year which starts on Thursday.

The Bushey-based golfer said: "I tried to qualify as an amateur and it's taken me four years to get into the Open. But it's not easy to qualify for and most people never make it into it.

"It feels great and it will be nice to walk the same holes as all the big names in golf. It's the pinnacle of golf for British players.

"It's exciting but you have to treat it the same as a normal event. I know that my game is good enough to compete."

The 23-year-old did not have any expectations of qualifying for the Open and it was only on his final hole on Sunday when he started to think about the possibility.

He said: "My first task was to keep my card and so it really wasn't on my mind. Qualifying is a bonus for me. Everyone from Britain wants to play in the Open. It's something I always wanted to do but it's just a complete bonus. It wasn't on my mind because I didn't go to final qualifying but in the end that probably helped me."

Shinkwin benefited from some advice from one of Europe's leading coaches Pete Cowen in Germany recently and the help paid off over the weekend in France.

He admitted: "In my Tuesday practice round I played nine holes and lost five balls so I just said let's get off the course and go to the range.

"I played OK in the first two rounds but then played exceptionally at the weekend. The practice round on Wednesday was really important because I needed to swing well again."

Shinkwin led the field for greens in regulation last weekend and the powerful golfer's form over the weekend saw him surge up the leaderboard at the demanding Le Golf National course.

He said: "I know I've shot 62 before but this round was much tougher and it is a course where every hole gets your attention.

"I hit 13 fairways out of 14 and 15 greens out of 18 on the last two days. My short game was also good and although I missed some chances on the greens they didn't miss by much."

Shinkwin, who is competing at the Scottish Open this week, has some experience of playing at Troon in the British Amateur Championship in 2012.

He said: "I can't remember too much about it but it's quite a demanding and you really need to hit it straight off the tee. There will probably be thick rough so you need to drive it well around there."

Shinkwin will be well supported in Scotland next week with his father and boxing cousin Miles watching him in South Ayrshire.

"I will have most of my family coming up," he said. "My dad and cousin Miles will be up for the Open and my mum will be coming at the weekend if I make the cut."

After promotion from the Challenge Tour at the end of last season, Shinkwin has enjoyed smooth progress during his first year on the European Tour.

He is currently 81st in the Race to Dubai and has only missed three cuts from 13 events.

Shinkwin said: "I've just got to keep my consistency going. I know that my game is good enough and I've just got to remain patient and keep practicing hard before each tournament.

"I don't set expectations at any event at all because the standard is good and you really have to be on your game to compete."

It has been a week to remember for Moor Park with Matt Wallace winning his fifth consecutive event on the Alps Tour alongside Shinkwin's success.

David Cook, chief executive at Moor Park Golf Club, said: “The Moor Park team, our members and I are all so proud of Callum and Matt.

"We have all been following their progress throughout the weekend and could not have dreamed of a better result for them both. Well done to them both, we all look forward to seeing them at the club soon and supporting their continued success.”

Wallace said: "I speak with Callum a lot and we urge each other on and congratulate each other when needs be.

"He's done brilliantly. His goal was to get into the Open through either the French Open or the Scottish and he has done so superbly by getting his first top ten on the European Tour.

"We are only three spots away from each other on the Official World Golf Ranking. I'm sure we will do our best to keep going up the ladder."