Thailand’s Prom Meesawat is hoping to better his result when he returns to the starting tee for the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth which begins on Thursday.

The Thai led the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth after 54 holes at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club last year but fell at his first hurdle when he lost to Australian Min Woo Lee, who won 2-Up against the Thai in the second round of the knockout match play.

Having welcomed his baby boy three months ago, the father-of-two is enjoying the time of his life now and is hopeful of carrying forward his domestic bliss onto the golf course this week.

India’s Viraj Madappa, a one-time Asian Tour winner, is ready to get his season underway in his debut appearance at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth.

Despite missing the cut at the Asian Tour season-opening event in Singapore last month, Madappa believes he has grown in maturity and confidence since his breakthrough on home soil last August.

Major winner Geoff Ogilvy of Australia is meanwhile looking forward to a memorable homecoming having spent 20 years in the United States.

He missed 14 of 16 cuts on the PGA TOUR last year and is planning to wind down his career as he attempts to spend more time with his family.

Did you know?

Prom Meesawat is nicknamed “The Big Dolphin” because of his physique and that he hails from Hua Hin, a coastal town in Thailand.

He finished two shots ahead of the rest of the field after the stroke play rounds last year. The burly Thai golfer, along with seven others in the top eight, went straight into the second round of the knockout matchplay on Sunday. This arrangement will be retained this year.

He lost to Australian Min Woo Lee, who finished the match 2-Up against the Thai.

Viraj Madappa became the youngest Indian player to win on the Asian Tour after lifting the 2018 TAKE Solutions Masters trophy in August.

He won at the age of 20 years and nine months, breaking the previous record set by Gaganjeet Bhullar, who was 21 years and three months old when he won his first Asian Tour title at the 2009 Indonesia President Invitational.

He followed up that win with another two top-10s at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship and season-ending Indonesian Masters to end 2018 in 35th place on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings.

Geoff Ogilvy won the US Open in 2006 and also three World Golf Championships.

He was once ranked as high as third place on the Official World Golf Ranking in 2008.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is the final event for players to boost their world rankings and break into the top-50 so as to qualify for the World Golf Championships- Mexico Championship next week.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is the only tournament in professional golf that features an innovative stroke play and match play format.

Players’ Quotes

Prom Meesawat (Tha)

It’s always nice to be back in a tournament where you have played well. Always good memories. You always try to ride on those positives and play even better. Everyone’s goal here is to win the tournament and you just got to believe in yourself, go out there and enjoy yourself. I was a little disappointed to have missed out on the win last year but the format has been set up this way and you just have to play according to the format. I felt six holes were too short for a match play and if there were more holes, I could have continued to stay in contention. But having said that, Lee played really well last year and I did the best I could then. I’m having a good life outside the golf course too especially being a father to two lovely kids now. It’s the best time of the year when you spend quality time with your little ones.

Viraj Madappa (Ind)

This is the first time I’m playing anything close to this format. It’s going to be exciting. I guess I just have to get through the first three days. I haven’t played too many match play events but I always enjoy playing them whenever I have that chance at home and the international amateur events. The course is lovely. It isn’t very long so you got to place the ball in the right position. The wind picks up in the afternoon and you have to be very careful. I’ve set higher expectations for myself this year. I’m more comfortable on Tour and that should help me a little more this year. I’m more familiar with the golf courses and people. I just have to keep doing my thing and hopefully it all work out. My good friend Shubhankar (Sharma) won the Order of Merit last year and I want to follow that path. My goal is the win the Order of Merit and I’ll try to work towards that. A good finish this week will definitely help.

Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)

I definitely got a bit jaded with the U.S. Tour.  The typical U.S. Tour setup is very similar every week, and it’s great and the PGA TOUR is an incredible tour, its unbelievable, but it just didn’t inspire me anymore.  I wasn’t getting excited to see these golf courses.  Every now and then you get some really amazing ones on that Tour, but generally the setups I didn’t really enjoy.  An added bonus to being here is being able to come and play more tournaments on courses that I enjoy, yeah, and this is one of the examples. We landed in January.  It’s been great.  I haven’t had a smile off my face for a month and a half.  It’s been a long time. I loved living in the U.S. and I loved playing there, and I’ll still play there a bit, I’m sure.  But happy to have the family back in Australia and amongst your people.  I love it in America, I love it here and this is home.  I wanted my kids to experience a little bit what I had.  My wife was always pretty interested in moving here. I’ve never been more motivated to be a good golfer, but I’ve never been less motivated to run around with a suitcase and go to strange places and leave the family.

Belgian headliner Thomas Pieters has warned against looking ahead to Sunday’s knockout phase of the ISPS HANDA Super 6 Perth as players vie for a place in the final 24 starting with Thursday’s opening round at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

Pieters will tee off from the 10th tee at 7.10am on Thursday alongside Perth local Jason Scrivener and New South Welshman Dimitrios Papadatos, following on from the group containing Perth prodigy Min Woo Lee, Vic Open champion David Law and rising Victorian talent Lucas Herbert.

The feature afternoon groups include 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy playing with Japan’s Yuta Ikeda and Adelaide’s Wade Ormsby at 12.10pm to be followed by England’s Tom Lewis, Adrian Otaegui from Spain and Victorian Matthew Griffin.

After two rounds of stroke play on Thursday and Friday the field will be cut down to the top-65 plus ties for Saturday before the top-24 advance to the six-hole match play knockout phase of the tournament on Sunday.

Having hosted the inaugural Belgian Knockout last May – a tournament that moved into two days of match play after a 36-hole cut – Pieters knows how the wrong mentality has the potential to bring a player undone.

“I guess when you’re just around that number on Saturday you might differ in some of the holes, how you play them,” Pieters said of having one eye on the top 24 cut-off. “But you try to get up that leaderboard as high as you can at any tournament.

“At my tournament I found it difficult. I remember on Friday afternoon I was a top-64 qualifier – I was maybe 20th or something – and you get a bit careless. You know you’ve got four shots to play with on the last three holes and I think that’s something maybe when you’re lying fifth, sixth, seventh at this tournament on a Saturday, you can get a bit careless.

“The top eight players get a bye (in the first round of match play), so that’s a big bonus as well. I think you want to just get in the top eight.”

A two-time winner of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Geoff Ogilvy absolutely has his sights on qualifying for the final 24.

After finishing 35th at the Vic Open a week ago, Ogilvy knows that all the pieces of his game are coming together and likes his prospects if he can make it through to Sunday.

“I’m not sure how that’s going to feel – six holes in match play, because that’s very quick – but match play’s always been one of my favourite forms of the game,” said Ogilvy.

“You kind of throw the scorecard out. It’s just me and you, let’s go. I really, really, really enjoy that.

“If I can play well, I can do okay, but the goal would be to make the match play and see what happens.

“I feel like if I can get to the match play I have as much chance as anyone else in the top 24.”

Battling illness since flying into Perth on Monday, Pieters credited his sister, Leiselotte, for devising the concept behind the Belgian Knockout and is adamant that golf must explore innovative tournament formats in order to engage with fans.

“I just like new ideas and I think it makes it interesting for the public to watch on TV,” Pieters explained.

“I think that’s where golf is going to go or needs to go, especially with young guys playing aggressive golf. Like I said, I think it’s fun to watch.

“We wanted a tournament in Belgium and we wanted something different. I can’t really remember who came up with the idea but I wanted a match play event.

“When you start match play on Thursday, people can get upset if you just lose your first match and you have to go home. This way everybody gets two rounds like a normal tournament, and the ones who play well move on.

“I lost my first match last year on Saturday at my tournament and it hurt, you know.

“I played at 8 in the morning and at 9.30 was back home and I lost. That’s golf. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

“Same thing here. On Sunday you can be back at the hotel at 9.30am.”

One of golf’s more cerebral thinkers, Ogilvy too believes that the game needs a greater variety of formats and that the Super 6 concept in particular is one worth persisting with.

“There’s plenty of room in golf for different stuff other than 72-hole stroke play,” said Ogilvy.

“Pure match play tournaments don’t seem to work commercially because half the field’s gone every day.  But this is kind of that happy medium.

“The traditionalists are happy because we’re playing stroke play for three days, and the 20/20 crowd is happy because we’re playing the six-hole match play (on Sunday).

“I hope that they can keep it going because I think it’s a good idea.”

The first groups of the ISPS HANDA Super 6 Perth tee off at 6.40am on Thursday with the first of the afternoon groups to start at 11.40am.

A week in New Orleans behind enemy lines shapes as the X-factor in the Internationals breaking a 21-year winless drought at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in December.

Shortly after US captain Tiger Woods announced Fred Couples, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson as three of his assistants for the biennial matches at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in December, Geoff Ogilvy spoke of his role as an assistant to Internationals captain Ernie Els.

Playing this week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth event at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, Ogilvy revealed that he will make one of few appearances on the PGA TOUR this year at the Zurich Classic at New Orleans in April, where those in contention to represent the Internationals will be encouraged to take part in the two-man teams event.

Aussies Jason Day and Adam Scott have indicated they will reform their 2013 World Cup-winning partnership in Louisiana with Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith another likely combination when the teams meet in Melbourne.

Although unsure he will play with that week – “I’ll do whatever Ernie tells me to do” – Ogilvy is adamant that the opportunity to play fourball and foursomes in tournament conditions is one that the Internationals would be foolish to ignore.

“We’ve got some emails and WhatsApp groups going around to try and work out some pairings for New Orleans because it is such a great opportunity. We never get to play best ball and foursomes in a tournament,” Ogilvy explained.

“We know the pairings that work, try a few different ones, flying a little bit less by-the-seat-of-your-pants during the week of the Presidents Cup because we’ll have a little bit of a measure from New Orleans.

“And it will be a bonding week. We’re all going to get in the same hotel in the same area; New Orleans is a good week to eat and drink and be merry and enjoy each other’s company.”

Leishman, Smith and Day all currently sit inside the top-10 in the Presidents Cup standings with Ogilvy revealing that he and Els had been discussing how they could engineer a win since serving as assistants under Nick Price when the Internationals were defeated 19-11 two years ago.

“Ernie and I were both assistants in New York last time and we were talking a lot about what we’re going to do next time,” Ogilvy said.

“It wasn’t anything that was different from ‘Pricey’ but just ideas he has picked up playing every Presidents Cup up until the last one.

“A more competitive guy than anyone I have ever met, Ernie Els. Hyper competitive, so he’s very motivated.

“He’s been very active on the emails and the messages, he’s leaving no stone unturned, I’ll say that much. I think he’ll be a great captain.”

While Els and Ogilvy are carefully plotting the Internationals’ preparation, Ogilvy questioned the timing of Woods’ tournament, the Hero World Challenge, the week before in the Bahamas.

“The logistics of flying from the Bahamas on Sunday and trying to play in Melbourne on Thursday, that’s a big trip,” Ogilvy said.

“That’s an advantage for us. If they’re coming across 13 time zones two days before the tournament starts, that’s a massive advantage for us I would think.”

A three-time Presidents Cup representative, Ogilvy was a month into his professional career when the Internationals enjoyed their lone win at Royal Melbourne in 1998 and having relocated back to Melbourne with his family in January, is excited by the prospect of being part of a winning team in December.

“I missed the cut at the NZ Open at Formosa and I flew back and watched the weekend,” Ogilvy recalled.

“That was great.

“It would be nice to do that again. That looked fun.”

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is proud to partner with local craft brewery, Feral Brewing Company, for the upcoming tournament where their famous Perth Local lager will be available to patrons.

Based in the stunning Swan Valley in Western Australia, Feral Brewing Company was established in 2002 out of a vision to brew better beer for the people of Perth. Their beers are built on quality, innovation and supporting local suppliers where possible.

This like-minded view spurred the partnership that will extend across four days of ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth action on the world-class ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, European Tour and Asian Tour.

“We are excited to have Feral Brewing Co on board for this year’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth and we will be showcasing their Perth Local Lager to those visiting the tournament,” said Michael McDonald, Commercial Director of the PGA of Australia which also owns the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“Feral Brewing Co is an innovative brewery and it’s a great fit with this event which is such an innovative format, and also celebrates Perth and all it has to offer golfers and visitors alike.”

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth begins at Lake Karrinyup Country Club on 14 February, 2019.

Jason Scrivener intends to use the pressure of playing in front of family and friends to propel him to a maiden European Tour win at this week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

Local hopes such as Scrivener, Min Woo Lee, Jarryd Felton, Daniel Fox and Perth native Nick O’Hern will go head-to-head with a star-studded field that includes Belgian Thomas Pieters, England’s Tom Lewis, Japan’s Yuta Ikeda, Kiwi Ryan Fox and fellow Australians Lucas Herbert, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Wade Ormsby.

Entering his fifth year on the European Tour, Scrivener has already logged four top-10 finishes since the Honma Hong Kong Open in November, his latest a tie for fifth at last week’s ISPS HANDA Vic Open.

The 2017 NSW Open champion has moved up to No.127 in the world and wants to use a rare start on home soil to show just how far his game has come.

“I’d be lying if I said that playing at home doesn’t come with some extra pressure but I think that’s good,” said Scrivener, who will tee off with Pieters and Dimi Papadatos at 7.10am on Thursday morning.

“It usually makes me focus that little bit more. I want to play well in front of friends and family and give them a bit of a show.

“I feel like I’ve done that and played well the past few years so it’s a nice treat.

“Everyone is saying that I’m in good form and that I’m playing well. I feel like I may have gone up a level and my expectations of myself have gone up a bit more because of that.

“I want to keep improving and take it to the next level. I want to start winning as much as I can.

“I’ve been close to winning a European Tour event but it would be nice to get the monkey off the back.

“That’s why the ISPS HANDA Vic Open last week was a tough one to take. I felt like I probably let that tournament slip through my fingers but if I was able to turn that disappointment into a win this week it will all be worth it.”

Ironically, qualifying for the US Open at Shinnecock Hills led to a downturn in form that threatened to strip Scrivener of his status on the European Tour.

In the wake of missing the cut at the US Open by a shot, the 29-year-old finished better than 61st just once in his next seven starts but rallied late to not only keep his card but almost qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

A late call-up to the WGC-HSBC Championship in China exposed Scrivener to some of the best players in the world and revealed what he needed to do in order to join their ranks.

“In a matter of two months I went from having to play well to keep my card to almost playing my way into the final event of the year,” said Scrivener, who qualified for the semi-finals at Lake Karrinyup two years ago.

“Over those two months I played with a lot of top 50 players and they are relentless, they don’t waste any shots.

“I played with guys like Matt Fitzpatrick, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Patrick Cantlay, Sergio Garcia… They are all top-30 players year after year so they are obviously doing something that I’m not.

“The difference between us and the top golfers in the world is not a lot, they just do all of the little things really well. That all adds up over four rounds and over the course of the year.

“That’s what my mentality will be over the next couple of years, to tick every box and do all of those 1 per centers really well.

“This year I am going to set my sights a bit higher and try to go to that next level.”

Lucas Herbert has watched last year’s semi-final defeat to eventual ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat over and over again.

Whether through a social media post by the PGA of Australia or a quick search on YouTube, the 23-year-old Aussie has pored over the six-hole matchplay battle he lost on the first shootout hole.

Not to torture himself or provide some kind of warped motivation to go one better this week at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, but to remember the good shots that he hit and imprint positive thoughts onto his brain.

After taking affiliate membership of the European Tour following the 2017 Australian PGA Championship, Herbert’s semi-final finish last February provided the early impetus he needed to go on and earn a full card for 2019.

As such, he returns to Perth not to right any wrongs but reflect on a week that had life-changing ramifications.

“What a win would have given me is what I ended up getting, so it’s a bit easier to sleep on,” Herbert said of falling one well-struck wedge from qualifying for the final.

“I still think about that six-hole match against Kiradech in the semi quite a lot. I still go back and watch the highlights quite a bit because I hit some pretty good shots in there as well.

“I holed some nice putts under pressure which, going back and watching those shots again and watching those putts go in you get that nice vibe back.

"It refreshes in your memory that you’ve done that before and you can carry that on to the course a bit easier.

“You just see yourself hitting nice shots and it’s good for positive feedback.

“He hit an unbelievable shot in the shootout hole to beat me, so it wasn’t like I kind of lost it and, you know, fell apart.

“It was a little bit heart-breaking but I played pretty well and did everything I could. He was just better than me when it came down to the clutch.”

Despite the obvious disappointment, Herbert and Aphibarnrat struck up an unlikely friendship out on tour, the Thai powerhouse sharing insights in to how he climbed into the top echelon of world golf.

Prior to last year’s tournament the Bendigo product was ranked 226 in the world but will tee off on Thursday the No.76 ranked player on the planet.

His goals for 2019 include finishing inside the top-20 in the Race to Dubai rankings and breaking into the top-50 in the world, the advice of his semi-final conqueror still ringing in his ears.

“Out in Europe, and we hung out and chatted,” Herbert revealed.

“I remember sharing a courtesy car from the hotel to the airport in Turkey and we chatted about how he progressed into the top-50 in the world from the European Tour.

"He was chatting about how that went, and sort of giving me some ideas, hopefully, for down the track.

“Given the year I had last year and finishing 48th (on the Order of Merit), I think top-20 is a reasonable goal.

“Hopefully that will give me a chance to play some more Majors and WGCs through this year and next year as well.

"That will ultimately give me the exposure I need to the best players in the world, and to take my game to the next level again and hopefully try and crack into that US Tour.

“I definitely want to get to the top-50 in the world, so just working on those goals, but you set them at the start of the year and then forget about them.

“Then you go about worrying about the day to day processes and ticking box at each tournament, making sure you’re ready to go come Thursday.”

It’s impossible not to notice, which in many ways is exactly the point.

In the world of professional golf where presentation matters, colourful artwork in the shape of tattoos aren’t so much taboo as simply never seen.

Until the Australasian and European Tours recently started to allow players to wear shorts during practice rounds we could only guess what was hidden beneath the pleats; we certainly weren’t expecting what Matt Stieger was sporting.

Prepping for this week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth tournament at Lake Karrinyup on Tuesday morning, Stieger’s legs stand out from two par-5s away.

“It’s a conversation starter for sure,” Stieger says walking up the ninth fairway.

“I don’t really know anyone on the Aussie tour that’s got any visible tattoos.

“James Nitties has one on his bicep that you can see every now and again with his shirt but as for very visible like mine are, hardly any.

“You get some pretty funny looks on the putting green but if people actually have the time to come up and ask what they mean I can explain it to them and they often say, ‘That’s really cool.’”

Finding someone without tattoos in a scan of 20-something men in a social setting is the modern equivalent of Where’s Wally yet it hasn’t – visibly anyway – transferred extensively into the ranks of the world’s leading golfers.

Boo Weekley – hardly the traditional golf archetype – has a sleeve of tattoos on each arm and Rickie Fowler has some small ones up near each bicep but in terms of tattoos that stop you in your tracks, Stieger certainly stands out from the crowd.

Following a tradition started by his father, Stieger’s first tattoo was that of a spider on his right shoulder on his 18th birthday. Since then he has collaborated on designs with Sydney-based tattoo artist Ben O’Grady at Stone Heart Body Art, each one with a very personal meaning connecting him to family.

“Dad always said I couldn’t get a tattoo until I designed my own and it has to have a meaning,” explained Stieger, who finished tied for 17th at last week’s Vic Open and will play predominantly on the Asian Tour in 2019.

“I designed my back piece which is a red-crested cockatoo with a king brown snake wrapped around it.

“The red-crested cockatoo is one of the rarest birds in the world which I see myself as, rare person, one-of-a-kind.

“The king brown snake is one of the only snakes that actually attacks, it doesn’t run away. I see that in my personality. If I want something I’m going to work hard and get it rather than run away from it.

“I lost all of my grandparents in the space of two years so my left leg is representative of my grandparents on my Dad’s side and my right leg my Mum’s grandparents.

“They pushed me with anything that I did and were always a big part of my life and to lose them all within two years pretty quickly… this is a reminder all the time which is good.

“It’s more personal so when people ask about them and I explain their meaning they understand and appreciate them a lot more.

“When you’re travelling around it can get quite lonely out there so it’s a bit of a reminder. They were always massive supporters of my golf and what I wanted to do.”

Nominating the spot at the back of the knee as the most tender part of the body that he has had tattooed to date – “Behind the back of the knee was pretty tender” – Stieger says he will complete his right leg tattoo when his exploits on the golf course warrant it.

“If I play well and do a few things that I want to do I can reward myself with getting tattoos,” said Stieger, who spent a total of 25 hours across four sittings getting his left leg completed.

“My goal last year was to finish in the top-30 on the Order of Merit and I just snuck in on 30th so I got to finish my left leg tattoo.

“This year I’ll definitely get the right one finished and then move on to another part of the body.”

Australia’s Dimitrios Papadatos talks candidly about the many highs and lows he has already experienced in his professional career – and how he keeps going after a number of setbacks.

Four years ago at Q-School I needed a double bogey to get a European Tour card, but I made a triple. I was playing really well that week and after almost six rounds I knew I was one inside the mark with three holes to go. Then I narrowly missed a birdie putt on 17 – but I still knew I was one inside the mark playing the last. You don’t really think about that though – you just want to make a birdie or a par and then get out of there. I hit my drive far out to the left, I was trying to hit it too far, and it rolled up under the lip of a bunker. I tried to play out but I hit it into the lip and it popped up and plugged next to me. I thought ‘surely this can’t be happening’ and ‘we’re in some trouble’. I hit it out on to the fairway, then spun it back to 50 feet, and I thought at the time I had that putt for a bogey to get my card. I gave that a bit of a run past the hole – and then obviously wasn’t the happiest person standing over my double bogey putt – so I missed that one too. I saw the cut went back so I had just missed a putt for my card.

It was a nightmare really. I continued to play poorly for a while after that, and although I had been playing poorly for a while before that week, it was really frustrating and a hiccup in my career for sure. You have to dig deep after moments like that, though, and although I let myself be down for a while, I told myself to ‘snap out of it and look at the bigger picture’. If that’s a bad thing to happen in your life it’s not too bad, I knew I’d get another opportunity the following year and I knew I’d still get a lot of opportunities to play the game that I love. It wasn’t the end of the world, even though it felt like it for a little bit.

When I won my first pro title in New Zealand in 2014 it was a pleasant surprise. But after that I struggled with my game and played really poorly for the rest of the year. I was playing terribly, flying around the world missing cuts, in Asia, invites here and there, and coming last in a few events.

It does take its toll after a while and it does beat you down big time. When you have those long stretches flying and travelling and putting so much time and effort in – along with the financial pressure as well – it gets really difficult getting through that. By the end of 2014 I was all over the shop. I went to European Tour Q-School that year and didn’t make it, then I went to Japan Q-School and pulled out after three rounds too, then I missed the cut by one at the Australian Open, so it was a really tough time.

Even though those bad times are hard, the winning feeling is very special. Winning on the Challenge Tour was awesome. I saw it as a great opportunity to earn my card as I had no status going into 2018 – I was just playing back in Oz – and I somehow got an invite to play in Portugal. I got a call on the Saturday, threw my passport in the bag, and made the journey from Perth to Portugal to see if I could turn things around – and I went on to win. I only packed for one week and I ended up staying in Europe for maybe ten or 11 weeks in a row.

I was in a pretty good position going into the Challenge Tour Grand Final last year – but I got disqualified. I had spent a lot of time inside the top 15 but I really struggled going into some of the bigger events in China and Kazakhstan, so I dropped off to 19th in the rankings and had a bit of ground to make up on the top 15.

image: http://www.europeantour.com/mm/Photo/Tournament/Tournaments/36/58/59/365859_M08.jpg

I needed a few things to go my way and they definitely didn’t. I started off well, I was three under through nine, but then I made a triple on the tenth after hitting it in the hazard, so I had a bit of a mess there. I parred the 11th, and then on the 12th I drove it into the water and after my approach I threw my eight iron into the ground after hitting it into the water again, which I felt was fair enough as I’d had enough by then!

I checked the club to see if it was damaged. It didn’t look damaged at the time, so I put the club back in the bag and finished the following hole. Then on the next par five I hit it in the fairway trap, and as I was trying to lay up from the bunker – again not being too happy with myself as the other guys were waiting to play their fairway shots – I pulled out my eight iron again and hit it straight down on to the fairway. It wasn’t until the 17^th hole when I had the club out again that I noticed in my set up the eight iron wasn’t sitting right on the ground. Because I didn’t ground my club in the bunker I couldn’t tell that it was bent, and after noticing that I had bent the club I told my caddie that I’ll report it to the officials at the end of the round as we only had two holes left and I didn’t want to make a fuss.

I was pretty sure I was going to be DQ’d. And after that I had a 14-and-a-half-hour flight home to think about it. I was quite angry at the result and how I finished the year, but I did see the positives. I know this game is going to keep beating me down, but I am slightly getting numb to it and I know there is probably more to come!

After I came home, I qualified for The Open. I had initially planned to go back to Q-School in Europe, but I decided to cut my losses and play a few events in Aus and try and end the year well – which I did by finishing second at the Aus Open. I have always dreamed of playing in Majors and competing against the best players in the world, so I can’t wait.

I don’t know what keeps me going. You just get up and you get through it. You have goals of being on the European Tour and playing at a high level and you just have to keep remembering what you have done before – I was fortunate in that I won early and had a few good results which gave me a lot of faith. I don’t do it all the time, but I know that if I play well I can compete.

You just have to keep things in perspective. You can have a bad day in golf – I am one who often gets frustrated on the course and have a quick reaction to it – but I never let it affect the rest of my life and I always try to enjoy myself. I will always strive to be the best that I can be and work really hard, but you always have to remember that it’s just a game of golf and it’s not that bad. As bad as you want it, and as hard as you work, you have to enjoy the process of getting there too.

Courtesy of  Europeantour.com

Golf fans who sit on the couch watching golf on TV boasting they could play a better shot than the professionals will have their chance to prove it at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth with the launch of Beat the Pro.

Making its Australian debut at the European Tour, ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tour tri-sanctioned tournament, Beat the Pro provides a whole new level of inside the ropes access for golf fans.

Taking place on Saturday 16 February, during the third round, up to 20 lucky fans will tee off against the pros on the par-3 12^th hole at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club for their chance to win $1000 worth of golf products.

An initiative launched on the European Tour in 2016, Beat the Pro sees an amateur contestant aligned with each group of professionals in the field. After the professionals have teed off on the par-3 hole, the amateur has one shot to try and beat the pros in a nearest the pin competition.

Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia, which owns the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, believes introducing the Beat the Pro competition is a fantastic way to get fans involved with the innovative Perth-based tournament.

“We have seen the success of Beat the Pro on the European Tour and the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is the perfect tournament for its Australasian launch,” said Kirkman.

“The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is driving innovation in Australian golf and the introduction of Beat the Pro is another initiative instigated by the PGA to modernise the fan experience at Aussie tournaments.

“We want to keep evolving and growing the game and engaging fans in a competition like Beat the Pro fits the bill perfectly.”

Fans will have the chance to line up against some of the world’s best pros including Belgian Thomas Pieters, Australian Lucas Herbert, New Zealander Ryan Fox, Englishman Tom Lewis, Japan’s Yuta Ikeda and Spaniard Jorge Campillo.

The initiative, which is open to golfers of all ages with an official handicap of 18 or less, including juniors, has already garnered the attention and support of professional golfers.

“This is such a cool competition. I have seen it in action on the European Tour and the fans love it, it’s awesome that the PGA is introducing it at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth,” said Lucas Herbert, who will spend 2019 competing on the European Tour.

“I think back to when I was a kid and the chance to go head-to-head with Pros I usually watched on TV, at an actual tournament would have been better than Christmas.

“But if an amateur is up against me on the 12^th hole on Saturday of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth, they had better bring their A-game if they want to beat me! I am super competitive so they are going to have to hit a good shot, I won’t be going easy on them,” added Herbert, with a grin.

The Beat the Pro competition was first played on the European Tour at the KLM Open in The Netherlands in 2016.

Golf fanatics of all ages are encouraged to enter via the form on the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth website, where fans must tell the PGA why they could Beat a Pro in 25 words or less.