England's David Dixon, the leading amateur
in last week's Open, has turned professional, International Sports Management
(ISM) said on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Silver Medal winner
joins Darren Clarke, joint third at Lytham, and the reigning European number one
Lee Westwood at the ISM stable.
Dixon had made the Great Britain and
Ireland Walker Cup squad for the August 7 match against the United States but
decided to join the professional ranks when he was overlooked for the full team.
Last week at Lytham Dixon finished
in tied 30th place, 11 shots adrift of champion David Duval.
He will now try to earn a card for
next year's European Tour from the seven special invites he receives as the Open's
leading amateur.
His first event as a professional will
be the Wales Open in three weeks time at Celtic Manor, one of the bidding venues
for the 2009 Ryder Cup.
