As he shored up the final phases of his amateur career, Croker made nine starts on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, making the cut in each one and finishing inside the top 10 four times, his best result a runner-up finish at the Heritage Classic.

“I don’t know the exact figure, but I know that I did miss out on a little bit of money last year,” Croker reflected.

“Hopefully it just banked up and maybe I’ll be able to get it this year.”

The exact figure was $48,042.76 of prize money not received.

But as Croker prepares to make his professional debut at Webex Players Series South Australia at Willunga Golf Course this week, the 22-year-old views it as an investment he needed to make.

“I finished maybe ninth at the NT PGA and obviously I played solid, but I didn’t feel like I played out of my skin,” Croker said.

“The last finish that really stuck at home for me was The Heritage playing with Matty Griffin and Jak Carter in the final round.

“‘Griffo’ went on to have 23-under that week and I finished second so that made me think that if I play good, there’s definitely an option to winning some of these events.

“That kicked home and that was very confidence boosting.”

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A week later Croker won the Australian Amateur Championship at Yarra Yarra Golf Club before embarking on a final international amateur expedition to America that yielded two top-three finishes, including runner-up at the prestigious Southern Amateur.

He advanced through First Stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q School last week and has now set his sights on maximising the Future Tour membership that provides direct entry to the PGA Tour of Australasia this season.

“I definitely feel like I’m ready to be out here,” said the Toowoomba-born Croker.

“It’s just now I’m actually a professional now. I’m not an amateur doing it.

“Even if you’ve proved yourself as an amateur, which I did out here last year, it just feels different now. Now I feel like every shot matters more.

“I know it’s still the same golf shot, it’s still executing what you can, but it feels like it matters more because there’s just that little bit more pressure.”

Crediting his parents for their early guidance, Croker says the move into Brisbane to start working with Chris Gibson at Royal Queensland Golf Club was critical in turning potential into professionalism.

“He really started to push me in the right direction to make sure I was doing things how I should be,” he added.

“Then I was in QAS (Queensland Academy of Sport) and they’ve helped me over the last four years along with Golf Australia. They really dial in what it is to be a professional.

“They’ve been instrumental to where I am now. Hopefully in the next couple of years I’m able to show that it was worth it.”

Webex Players Series South Australia is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo on Saturday (3pm-6pm AEDT) and Sunday (1pm-6pm AEDT).