By John Huggan
It had been a while for Andy Sullivan. So it was perhaps not too surprising that it was, at least for a time, a bit of a struggle, too. But four years and 297 days on from his third European Tour victory, the 33-year-old Englishman finally has a fourth.

Armed with an overnight five-shot lead that once shrunk to as little as two during the final round, Sullivan’s Sunday 65 was eventually good enough to win the English Championship. By the close of play, runner-up Adrian Otaegui was seven shots back, one ahead of Rasmus Hojgaard in third. The Danish teenager’s hot run—second at the British Masters T-6 finish in the Hero Open—continued into a third week. A closing 64 means Hojgaard is now 47-under-par for his last 12 competitive rounds.

Impressive, but Sullivan was the undoubted star of this particular show. His 27-under 257 score for his four days on the 7,042-yard Hanbury Manor course north of London earned the former Ryder Cup player €156,825 from the total purse of €1 million. It didn’t come easy though. Not at first.

On multiple occasions on the front-nine Sullivan made vital putts to save par, although the 12-footer he holed for birdie on the par-5 12th, the first of what would be four in seven holes, was surely the most telling. After making 15 birdies and two eagles en route to shooting 62-64 on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s early stages proved to be a lot harder on the nerves of the former supermarket shelf-stacker. Otaegui’s six birdies over his first 12 holes weren’t helping on that front either.

“This is really emotional,” said Sullivan, whose recent T-4 finish at the British Masters hinted at this welcome return to form. “For a while there that wasn’t as easy as it turned out. I wasn’t hitting enough fairways on the front nine, which made it hard for me to get close to the pins. I ground it out really well though. I knew that putt on 12 was important. I loosened up from that point onwards and hit some really good shots. I was fighting back tears over the last few holes.

As the lead began to increase on the back nine, Sullivan understandably felt the pressure lifting. “It’s just nice to be back in the winner’s circle after so long,” he said. “It has been frustrating that my game didn’t kick on from 2015. But my team and I have worked so hard. I’m proud of myself.”

Indeed, the last few seasons have been ones of almost constant disappointment for Sullivan, once viewed as one of Europe’s most promising rising stars. Three victories in 2015 saw the Nuneaton-native make his Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine National a year later. Not only that, in the run-up to the matches he was earmarked as a foursomes and four-ball partner for the star of the European team, Rory McIlroy.

That partnership didn’t last too long though. In the opening session of foursomes matches, with the match all-square, Sullivan found water with his tee-shot at the short 17th. It was to prove crucial as he and McIlroy lost on the final green to Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. Worse, Sullivan, a Walker Cup player in 2011, was not seen again until the final day singles, when he lost to Brandt Snedeker.

Scarred by the overall experience, Sullivan almost immediately went into what turned out to be a slow and steady decline. To his credit, the marked deterioration in his fortunes never seemed to affect his upbeat persona, never more so than when her became the first man to make an ace in the European Tour’s 500-ball “Hole-in-One Challenge.” With his 230th attempt, Sullivan’s 7-iron from 171 yards found the bottom of the cup, a feat that provoked an amusing and highly vocal sprint from tee to green.

Elsewhere, however, laughs were harder to come by. Ranked as high as 28 in the world in February 2016, Sullivan finished that year as 44th. Twelve months later he was 129th. And by the end of last year he was 137th, 11 places higher than his position when he arrived at Hanbury Manor.

Still, he left the picturesque parkland course feeling a lot better about life and golf. Sully’s smile is back.

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By John Huggan
Much fanfare surrounded Thursday’s announcement that the European Tour will resume its 2020 season with an initial six-tournament U.K. Swing starting at the British Masters July 22-25. The tour’s chief executive, Keith Pelley, was understandably excited about the prospect of competitive play on the Old World circuit, fallow since the Qatar Masters in early March.

Still, while the likelihood is that the British Masters, English Open, English Championship, Celtic Classic, Wales Open and U.K. Championship will all take place through the end of August—all without spectators—a few hurdles remain to be cleared.

In a memo to the tour membership that has been seen by Golf Digest, David Park, a former Walker Cup player and the European Tour’s head of player relations, outlined a situation that he says “continues to evolve.” Perhaps most importantly—and although on-going discussions have been “positive”—Pelley’s request for a player exemption from the two-week quarantine currently in place for those entering the United Kingdom has not yet received official government approval. With such a broad-based international membership, that is a vital component for the European Tour.

RELATED: European Tour set to resume 2020 season with six-event U.K. swing

Should that come to pass, other logistical issues remain. Full details of the tour’s Medical Health Strategy and required testing are still being finalized. Meanwhile, as “behind closed door” events, the tour has told players that no family or guests will be permitted onsite in this initial run of tournaments, and officials continue to evaluate access for key support staff (coaches, trainers, managers and manufacturers).

And while it will be a condition of entry into all six tournaments that players and caddies stay in “designated official hotels,” the creation of an all-inclusive “bubble” at three of those will be an issue if full fields of 144 golfers are to be accommodated. Assuming every player and caddie will each require a room, a minimum of 288 will be needed. Throw in support staff and that number will surely exceed 300.

Forest of Arden, host to the English Open, boasts only 214 rooms. Hanbury Manor, site of the English Championship, has only 149, plus 12 suites. The situation is happier at Celtic Manor, where the Celtic Classic and Wales Open will take place. The 2010 Ryder Cup site has well over 500 rooms in a variety of on-course premises, including 330 in the resort hotel alone. Equally, the Belfry has 319 bedrooms, enough to comfortably host every player and caddie at the U.K. Championship.

Significantly, however, players and caddies have been warned not to book “any other accommodation for the U.K. Swing.” Park points out that “this is an essential part of reducing the risks associated with the spread of COVID-19 and everyone’s safety. Also, this has been a key part of the discussions with the U.K. government to enable the events to take place. The European Tour is arranging for sufficient hotel rooms for all players and caddies at each of the events.”

Having said that, no promises are being made to the players that full fields of 144 will be achieved. As is the case for regular European Tour events, 2020 exemption categories will be used as the basis to fill the fields. But, although invitations to non-tour members are to be kept to a minimum, “a small number may be required to assist with commercial and sponsorship agreements we are working on with potential partners for each of the events.”

“Final field sizes will be determined by the number of people we are permitted to have onsite for a behind-closed-doors event by the local and national authorities,” Park said.

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