HOYLAKE , England — John Singleton’s life changed over a quiet dinner with his fiancée at the Devon Doorway, a small pub in tiny Heswall, England.
“That’s where the fateful conversation took place,’’ Singleton recalled as he sat on a bench alongside the practice putting green next to the Royal Liverpool clubhouse.
It was early evening Tuesday with the late sun still splashing through the clubhouse windows. The golf course, on which the British Open will be played beginning with Thursday’s opening round, was nearly empty.
Singleton, one of the unlikeliest local qualifiers in the Open field, was in no hurry to leave. Why would he be? He’s starring in his own fairy tale — one he does not want to end.
“It’s not very often a story like mine happens,’’ Singleton told The Post. “You’ve just got to embrace it and go with it.’’
“Go with it’’ has multiple meanings for the 30-year-old factory worker who punches a clock at 8 a.m. and punches out at 4:30 p.m. after 8 ¹/₂ hours of hard labor at a resin plant in Birkenhead, which sits halfway between Hoylake and the city of Liverpool.
“Go with it’’ means savoring every moment this week. It means performing well, possibly even making the cut and playing the weekend, which would mean playing the final round Sunday on his 31st birthday. It also means attracting a sponsor who is drawn enough to his story and talent to back him financially and allow him to make golf his living instead of pushing 200-kilo barrels around the resin plant.
There are many chapters to Singleton’s tale, but the most important — the fire starter — was that conversation with his fiancée, Lucy Johnson, last August.
“She said, ‘Every time we talk about golf you seem like a different person,’ ’’ Singleton recalled. “She said, ‘Why don’t you give it another go? You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.’ So, in February I turned professional again, and five months later I’m playing The Open.’’
Singleton grew up in the shadow of Royal Liverpool. As a 10-year-old he dragged a bag of sawed-off sticks around the local public course, tagging along with his father, John, and older brother, Mark, while they played.
The kid’s swing — modeled after videos of Ernie Els on a local instructor’s recommendation — was a natural. Singleton’s dad, a boilermaker on big ships, gave his youngest son “what money we had’’ to go play college golf in the U.S.
“He always wanted to go to America to play golf,’’ Singleton’s father told The Post Wednesday as he walked the course watching his son play a practice round with two PGA Tour regulars. “It was well worth it. … I never thought he’d be walking around here with Dustin Johnson and John Daly, though.’’
Singleton went to college at tiny Division II Rend Lake in southern Illinois, and played on coach Dave Smith’s team there for two years.
A couple years later, he had two bad knees and his hopes of making a living playing golf were gone. He took the factory job to help support Johnson and her son. He made about seven British pounds an hour, the equivalent of about $10.50.
Then came the dinner conversation, turning pro again, working on his game after work every night and getting through local qualifying to earn a spot in the 143rd British Open being played in his backyard.
At 5:32 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, he is set to tee off with Peter Uihlein and Marc Warren in the Open’s first round.
“I’m a bit nervy. I just hope he makes the cut … he seems confident enough to do it,’’ Singleton’s father said.
“My goal is play well, make the cut and hopefully I can get a sponsor and I can continue to play golf,’’ Singleton said. “I work full time and I’ve qualified to play the Open. … If I get the chance to play full time, what can I do with that time?’’
Among those watching Thursday will be Richard Tweddle, Singleton’s boss.
When Singleton qualified for the Open, Tweddle gave him two weeks paid time to practice. On Thursday, the doors at Advanced Electrical Varnishes will be locked, because Tweddle is closing the factory for the day so the employees can watch Singleton play, using tickets Tweddle bought for them.
“Because we cut John some slack we thought we ought to cut everybody else some,” said Tweddle, a former captain at the club Singleton represents, Eastham Lodge. “Who would ever think that the guy from the shop floor would make it to the pinnacle of his chosen sport?’’
The most poignant part of this story may take place Thursday when Singleton’s fiancée, who is five months pregnant with their first child, witnesses what she was such a big part of creating — however unwittingly.
“She’s never been to a sporting event before,” Singleton said. “She’s found this all quite overwhelming, me turning pro in February and now to be thrown into this. I’m hoping when she comes … she’ll see how big this is and hopefully she can embrace it just as much as I do.’’