I’m a Morrisons delivery driver and just won £170k at golf tournament in Kenya

Becoming a top-level professional sportsman takes skill, determination, hard work and for one rising golf star, a life-changing cash injection.

Part-time delivery driver Joe Dean was ranked 2,930th in the world when he entered last week’s Kenya Open.

The Morrisons employee carded a closing four-under-par 67 to finish 12 under in Nairobi, netting a whopping £170,000 prize in the process.

The 29-year-old qualified for the DP World Tour in 2023 but didn’t compete until the Qatar Masters in February due to not being able to afford the cost of travel and accommodation.

Dean missed the cut in Doha and returned to his job at Morrisons but after finishing two shots behind eventual winner Darius Van Driel, the Sheffield native’s career is looking far rosier thanks to his prize money.

“It’s not the cheapest of sports to play,” Dean told talkSPORT. “It requires a lot of financial backing to go to these places. Some are a little cheaper than others but yeah, they tend to be on the expensive side.

“Fortunately, Ping has kitted me out and sorted me out with equipment so that side of it is covered.

“The other side however, with covering hotels and flights, I’ve been fortunate for the last couple of events to get that but there were a few events pre-Christmas that I had to back off of for the fact that I couldn’t afford to go.”

His performance in Kenya should move Dean a little further up the rankings when they are updated next.

Further progression in the near future is likely for Dean, who admits he felt confident ahead of his recent heroics.

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“My swing has felt good for probably the last four or five months, it’s just been the fact of getting to the tournaments,” he added.

“Myself and my caddie went to the driving range on Thursday. I hit about 20 balls and my swing felt great so we never went back to the driving range all week. We went on the putting green, hit a couple of puts and went to the chipping green, then just went out and played.”

Dean admits that whilst the prize money will be fundamental to his continuing rise in the sport, he’s not at the point where he can travel in plush surroundings just yet.

“Probably not any first-class flights yet, I’ll have to get a couple more good results before that but yeah, it’s a massive weight lifted off my shoulders and it’s a much nicer place to be in.

“The biggest amount of money I won prior to this event was The Open I played in, in 2017. I just made the cut so I won about £20,000

“I hope they just transfer it into my bank account, we’ll have to wait and see.”

The prize money will allow the golf star to take a sabbatical from his delivery driving duties for a while and although he is already eyeing up his next global tournament, Dean says he is looking forward to popping back into the supermarket for a catch up with his mates.

“I think to be honest, I might be leaving it (Morrisons) for the time being,” Dean said. “Having said that I’ve got a few weeks off so I might nip in and see the guys and have a laugh with them.

“There‘s a chance I could play in Asia in the next three to four weeks. Failing that it’ll probably be Belgium a couple of weeks after that so we’ll just have to wait and see.”