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West Australian amateur Hayden Hopewell has made a big step in his inevitable transition into professional golf, although he did make a significant blunder along the way.
Hopewell has earned a card on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia for next season courtesy of earning 20,824 points as an Affiliate Future Tour Member which equates to finishing 48th in the Order of Merit, but it could have been so much more.
When the 20-year-old finished in a tie for second at TPS Murray River – four shots behind ground-breaking champion Hannah Green – none of his points counted because he had not filled out the Affiliate Future Tour Membership forms yet.
“They sent out the email and I got back a bit late, and then I finished second at Cobram and I would’ve picked up 20,000 points. I think that’s the way it goes, but I did it the week after, and then I was lucky enough to get the card anyway, but yeah don’t get things in late!” Hopewell said with a laugh.
Thankfully for the Royal Fremantle member, he made up for that error by earning 15,000 points with another runner-up finish. This time it came at his home course in the Nexus Adversinet WA Open, where he was defending his title from 2020.
Hopewell was beaten in the final round of that tournament by a freakish collision of golf balls at the 18th green which secured the win for New South Welshman Braden Becker, and despite that slice of bad luck, he was thrilled that the result granted him a tour card.
“I’m over the moon,” he said. “It’s obviously a step I’ve taken as an amateur golfer that I don’t have to worry about when I turn pro. So yeah, I can pick and choose a few events which is nice to have and probably put my sights elsewhere.”
As for when Hopewell will turn professional, it is highly unlikely that Australian golf fans will be seeing an ‘(a)’ next to his name on leaderboards for too much longer.
“Yeah I think I’ll give it a really good look towards the end of this year, I’ll go through my coach, family, and see the things that we will have to put in line. But yeah there’s a good chance,” he said.
Before then, the number 56 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings will venture overseas during the Australian winter to play in amateur tournaments, and he will look to continue his form from last week’s Australian Interstate Teams Matches where he was undefeated.
Learn more about the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia’s Affiliate Future Tour Membership here.
