Any fish will tell you that a lure is something to be wary of. Only you don’t realise it is a lure until there is a sharp piece of steel lodged in the inside of your mouth. Aaron Pike’s lure was a maiden Open Championship berth in 2020 and its pull was so strong that it convinced him not to quit professional golf altogether.
Pike earned his second ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title at last week’s Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship on his home course at Palmerston, defeating good friend Michael Sim at the first hole of the playoff.
The distinctive crocodile skull trophy will be a constant reminder of a year that promised so much, took it away and provided a way forward.
Now 34 years of age, Pike first came to prominence going toe-to-toe with Englishman Justin Rose as an unheralded amateur at the 2006 Australian Masters.
Twelve years later he broke through for his first win on Tour and has spent much of his career fighting for the right to take his game overseas.
There have been dalliances with Korea and China but it wasn’t until his tie for third at last year’s Australian Open that a way into Europe finally presented itself.
It secured a start at the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland but, most importantly, an exemption into the field to contest the 2020 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, a championship that would be cancelled for the first time since 1945.
Given the cancellation of the Australian Open due to the COVID-19 pandemic it’s an exemption that is likely to carry forward to 2021 and one that came at a critical time for Pike.
“I do remember mentioning to someone that I would consider giving the game away if I didn’t have the British Open exemption,” Pike revealed following his home-town win on Sunday.
“I won’t lie to you and say that I didn’t think about that but because of that British Open opportunity I never let myself get too far down that road.
“I’d worked so hard to get exemptions to final stages of Q Schools and it was really hard and a bitter pill to swallow.
“In saying that, I turned myself out of that headspace pretty darn quick and then I put the feet on the ground and started putting one foot in front of the other and doing the things that I needed to do.”
Beyond tournament exemptions Pike was also granted a free pass through to the Final Stage of qualifying schools in both Europe and Japan.
It is not yet clear whether those opportunities will be available at the end of 2021 but Pike has used his downtime to become more mentally resilient in the face of such uncertainty.
“There was a lot of light at the end of the tunnel to be looking forward to and when it all went down and I realised that these things were all falling by the wayside I got pretty irritated and angry with the situation I was in,” Pike admitted.
“I got over that pretty quick and my coach and I decided that this was going to be a period where there’s not going to be a lot of golf and if there is it’s not going to be that meaningful.
“We decided to do some work on the game, iron out some things and take the time to really work on the mental side of things.
“That’s something that I’ve always thought has been a big problem of mine.”
Pike began working with renowned performance psychologist Phil Jauncey in January and was adamant that it was the difference in securing the win on Sunday.
“Between the ears is 100 per cent what won me the tournament,” said Pike, who had older brother Michael on the bag for him.
“I’m not trying to disrespect the other people that were in the field but I really didn’t feel like I had my best stuff but I worked my arse off mentally.”
Early last year Pike spent time with close friend Jason Day at his home in Ohio trying to better understand what it takes to reach golf’s upper tier.
But just as he was ready to put it into practice the world was turned on its head.
All he can do now is find a spot for the crocodile skull on the mantle and use it as further motivation for whatever 2021 offers.
“I don’t really know (whether the exemptions carry over) but I can’t live in the world of what-ifs,” said Pike, the 2018 Victorian PGA champion.
“As soon as I’ve done quite well in events I suddenly put too much pressure on myself to work harder, do this, do that and unfortunately that’s not the right way for Aaron Pike to do things.
“You’ve got to enjoy yourself, you’ve got to stay present, stay in the moment and more to the point, you’ve got to let things happen. You can’t force them.
“I’ll approach 2021 the way that I finished 2019. That was a better way for me and for where I’m at now.
“Work my arse off but have no expectations.”