While some golfers will splash the cash on a variety of gaudy accoutrements that would make Liberace wince, there’s never been much of the showman about Connor Syme.
“I did treat myself to a Trackman but that was more of a business expense and hopefully one that makes me a better golfer,” said the canny Syme, who shunned the extravagant watches and cars and invested a considerable sum in one of those elaborate launch monitor contraptions. “I’ve still got my sensible head on.”
A cheque for almost £100,000 for a runners-up finish in the European Tour’s Shot Clock Masters earlier in the season helped finance his purchase but, to wildly paraphrase The Beatles, money can’t buy you a tour card. Despite that second place, Syme didn’t do enough during his rookie campaign to safeguard his full playing rights and will be back at the qualifying school next month.
It’s been an eye-opening year for Syme. He made just three of his first 12 cuts on the main circuit, enjoyed a profitable flurry around the middle and then limped over the line. In the end, he came up some £29,000 short of the safety zone.
“I missed a load of cuts by the odd shot and if I’d played a few more weekends then you never know where I could’ve ended up,” reflected the 23-year-old. “I feel I am good enough for this level but I had enough chances to keep my card and didn’t manage it. I didn’t achieve my No 1 goal and that is a big disappointment but it wasn’t a completely terrible year.
“Finishing runner-up in a tour event is pretty special, after all. That was the high point. It gave me a platform to build on. I would’ve hoped to have kicked on from that but the back end of the season was disappointing. I need to become more consistent. That was one of my strengths as an amateur but it was a problem this year.
“Ultimately it came down to a few thousand points on the rankings and if you make a few more cuts then it changes everything. I felt two top-fives would’ve done it for me. But I just couldn’t manage it.”
Last November, Syme eased through the grisly, six-round, nerve-shredder that is the qualifying school final to earn his tour card. All he has to do next month is pass the 108-hole examination again and he’ll be back on board.
That’s easier said than done, of course, but having had a taste of the fare at the top table of European golf over the past 12 months, Syme is eager to feast on seconds.
“I left Spain the other night [after the Andalucia Masters] more determined than ever to get better,” he said as his season drew to a close. “It’s been great and I’ve loved it. I don’t want it to end and I just want to be on the tour. It’s the dream job.”
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