Fresh from the biggest win of his career, the 31-year-old Englishman is again eyeing the emotional rollercoaster that is European Tour Q-School. The resumption of the MENA Tour season this month is key to the Yas Links-attached touring pro’s bid to finally crack one of the game’s toughest examinations, as Kent Gray discovers.

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You pen one of the most refreshingly honest blogs in golf so we can’t wait for your response to this question: Sum up your professional golf career to this point?
I would say my career so far has been a slow progression. I would love to have moved onto the European Tour by now but I do feel I’m still progressing and hungry for it so it’s just a matter of time. I just need to keep working hard at my game and I’m sure I will get to where I want to be.

How about 2019?
It’s been a mixed bag. I have been spending my time playing in South Africa [on the Sunshine Tour] in the early part of the year with a few MENA events thrown in and was supposed to be playing in SA at the moment. Unfortunately, due to some things off the course, I have decided to play more in the UK so I can be closer to my family.

Your victory at the Cumberwell Park EuroPro event in June was your seventh win as a professional. Where does it stack up in terms of career achievements?
On paper, it was my biggest to date. I have had lots of good performances in Asia and South Africa in bigger events but to get in the winners’ circle after nearly a year since my last win back in the UK on the Jamega Tour is always rewarding and takes the top spot. It’s hard to win in professional sport, especially golf, so you need to appreciate them when they come.

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It must give you a lot of confidence heading into the second half of the MENA Tour season?
Absolutely. Winning is what we as professionals always want to do. Hopefully, I can build on that going forward and push on and make it more of a habit.

What events will you play and what’s the goal for the remainder of the MENA Tour season?
Jordan, Yas Links, Al Ain and then hopefully the Tour Championship again back in Jordan. I will have Tour Champs on the EuroPro and [European Tour] Q-School in between the MENA events so I will have a pretty full schedule up until the end of the year.

Joy rates his EuroPro victory in Wiltshire earlier this year as the best of his seven professional wins

You’ve won two MENA Tour titles, the Dubai Creek Open and Ascorp GOLF CITIZEN Abu Dhabi Open, both in 2014, just two years after you turned professional. What a year that must have been?
It was a massive year. I was flat broke when I arrived in the UAE in September 2014 and had £300 in my account that was actually my money. I can remember meeting with my biggest shareholder and now my main sponsor to ask if I could use the money that I had won in previous events that were meant to go to the shareholders to fund my time on the MENA Tour. Their support and confidence in me gave me such a huge boost on what had been a fairly benign year to that point and it worked out pretty well. Those weeks really played a huge part in enabling me to play professional golf and also show just how much of a fine line it is getting the support and funding to play.

You have shareholders?
I have a fantastic sponsor in Kitchen Elegance. At this stage in my career, I couldn’t do it without their help. I also sell shares in myself to raise more funds to help cover the costs. For each share that I sell, the shareholders get a split percentage of my earnings to come the end of the year so it gets them involved so they feel part of the journey with me, with all its ups and downs.

You’ve got a way to go to catch up to Zane Scotland’s record 10 MENA Tour titles but Lee Corfield (England) and Stephen Dodd (Wales) with four and three wins respectively are surely in your crosshairs?
Absolutely. Zane is Mr MENA Tour and I’m always striving to catch him but I might need a few seasons to reach his tally. Me and Zane are good friends so even though he never mentions his win total we all know he is that guy to catch. In regards to Lee and Stephen, hopefully, I can surpass them soon and work my way towards Zane’s tally…but I might need a little time.

As well as being one of the most successful MENA Tour players since the circuit’s inception in 2011, you also own six runner-up finishes including four in playoffs, the most recent to Jamie Elson in the 2017 Jordan’s Ayla Golf Championship.  A case of so close and yet so frustratingly far?
Yeah, the runner-up finishes just show that I have been knocking on the door a lot and it’s always fun to be in contention at events. To not get the job done is very frustrating of course but also seeing the consistency throughout the years is something to be positive about and shows the game is heading in the right direction.

You also lost in a playoff to a young amateur by the name of Rayhan Thomas at the 2016 Dubai Creek Open:
Rayhan has a very bright future ahead of him and I wish him all the best as he heads off to play college golf in America which I was fortunate enough to do. I think the MENA Tour has given him a great platform to play and win like all of us, so hopefully, he can do the same over the other side of the pond. Of course, I wanted to win in the playoff but in that instance, I feel that it was great for the region to see such a hard-working chap get the job done and it will hopefully inspire others to take up the game in the region.

You did beat Trevor Marshall (New Zealand) for your maiden MENA Tour win in extra time. What do you remember about that victory at the 2014 Dubai Creek Open?
All I can remember was thinking that I was going to win that day and didn’t care how I did it. I also remember how hot it was that week as it was my first experience playing in the UAE. I was also probably thinking I need this win so I could afford to pay for my hotel!

You played with Robin Roussel in the final round of the Dubai Open at Dubai Hills in March. Are you surprised by the Frenchman’s form on the Challenge Tour (current top-10) since then?
Not at all. He’s a very solid player and nice bloke. He has gone on to do well on the Challenge Tour and I’m sure he is fully focused on getting his main tour playing privileges come to the end of the year.

The performances of Roussel and lately Matthew Baldwin and Todd Clements must give you a lot of confidence as you look to make the next step in your career?
Absolutely. When you play with these types of players and some weeks you beat them and other weeks you don’t, it’s always a good way to see where your game is at. All three of them are working hard to get onto the European Tour and with players like that in the MENA Tour fields, it always pushes you to keep improving so that you can compete at the highest level.

In a blog after winning at Cumberwell Park, you thanked your “beautiful wife Lauren…for putting up with my moods and general absence at times to pursue a game that is simply stupid but liberating.” We all know golf is hard but how low have been the lows as a pro?
The lows have been pretty low. It does come in waves, but normally comes and goes and just before loathe it turns to love again. It’s a lot of hours on the range, in airports and time away from home and loved ones like Lauren. Sometimes you are flying high in sport but there is so much time spent alone trying to get better and work towards your goals that people don’t see. When you see players winning, it’s just the iceberg of how hard they have worked to get to that point. If you said to any normal person working a 9-5 that they would turn up for two to six weeks at a time, work flat out every day, put in overtime and potentially not get paid a penny for the efforts, it’s always tough for someone to get their head around. When you then tell them it also costs you £500-£2000 a week for the privilege of competing, you normally get a facial expression that looks somewhat comparable to sucking on a lemon.

You’re attached to Yas Links. How is the club helping you become the best golfer you can be?
I absolutely love practising at Yas! For me, it’s the best place in Abu Dhabi with the perfect set up of practice and plays. The course is, in my eyes, one of the best tests you will find as it constantly changes due to the weather. The new short game area at the academy is perfect to work on the scoring aspect of your game.

You are returning for a fifth crack at European Tour Q-School? Some would say you are a sucker for punishment?
I just about have the funds to do it so I’m backing myself to perform and hopefully move up the ranks. It’s a gruelling test as I will be starting at stage one but you have to give it a go if you have the chance. It’s hard to say if I’m looking forward to it as the three stages are pretty brutal and it’s not like a normal competition as there is definitely not too much chat amongst your playing partners. But it’s a great way to see how your game holds up under pressure.

You’ve teed it up in European Tour events before so know what it takes to compete at the top level. What steps do you need to take to finally get a card?
My consistency off the tee needs to get better for me to jump to the next stage. My iron play is normally very good so if I’m in play I seem to be able to do pretty well on the weeks I drive it well.

What has been your European Tour highlight thus far?
Playing in Dubai at Emirates G.C. in Omega Dubai Desert Classic is always a treat. The UAE feels like a second home to me and to have been able to play the event three times and it being my first start on the European Tour will always be something that I hold close to my heart. I’m very much looking forward to playing the event again, hopefully, sooner rather than later. Those opportunities came from my performances on the MENA Tour so I can’t thank the organisers enough for allowing us MENA Tour players the opportunity to battle it out with the best players in the world

How has the MENA Tour helped to get you ready for another crack at European Tour Q-School?
It’s a great platform to compete and play on some of the best courses the region has to offer. It’s always competitive and now attracting some big names to drive the performances even higher.

How has the MENA Tour improved since you first teed it up?
The depth of the tour has improved massively since I first played in 2014. The Tour is fantastic as we play courses that you just don’t find on other developmental tours so I feel it prepares you better for moving up to the next level. I’m sure it will get better and better each year which is great.

The post Joy confident MENA Tour lessons can help him (finally) crack Euro Q-School appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
On both sides of the pond, the mention of “Q School” evokes stories of agony and despair. While that’s the substance to most tales of tour ambitions, the narrative of Jonathan Thomson is decidedly different, and might be the story of the year.

Thomson, who underwent five years of extensive chemotherapy treatment to combat acute lymphoblastic leukemia as a child, turned in a birdie-birdie finish in his final day of the taxing six-round tournament in Spain, an ending that earned the 21-year-old his European Tour card by a mere two shots.

“It’s not really hit home yet. It’s so emotional, it’s been such a long journey for us to get to this point and it’s hard to let it all sink in,” Thomson told Chris Stratford of the Yorkshire Post. “My dad’s [Nigel] been here with me through it all. It’s been some tough times, but here we are and it’s great. We had a hug and a tear on 18, and I’m looking forward to getting a beer now.”

After making the turn in 32, Thomson seemed to be in good standing. But this is Q School, where fortunes change quickly, as Thomson proceeded to bogey three of the first five holes on the back. Luckily, he righted the ship with consecutive pars before his spectacular finish.

“I’ve come through all three stages. I got in on the mark in First Stage and then a playoff in Second Stage, and now I’m a European Tour member, so it’s been a hell of a journey,” Thomson said afterwards.

Don’t expect this to be the last you’ve heard of Thomson. Turning pro last year, Thomson spent most of this season on the EuroPro circuit, European golf’s third tier. He’s all 6-foot-9, making him one of the tallest players in golf’s premier ranks. His height is something he uses to his advantage off the tee, according to friend Tyrrell Hatton.

“I know who will be leading the driving distance stat next year,” Hatton told the AP.

The post Cancer survivor earns European Tour card thanks to birdie-birdie finish appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The former teen phenom from Thailand — we use the word “former” lightly since he’s still just 21 — earned his European Tour card for the first time on Thursday and he did it in dramatic fashion with an eagle on the final hole of Q School. A chip-in eagle at that. Unfortunately, there’s no video, but here’s how the rising star described his final stretch of holes at Spain’s Lumine Golf Club.

“I am so happy to have snuck in. I was having a bit of a bad day and was struggling a little bit over the back nine, I made a double-bogey on the 15th and I almost gave up at that point,” Jazz told EuropeanTour.com. “I held it together until the last hole though, and I just thought ‘I can only try my best here’. To see the ball go into the hole after my chip was amazing and it is still going through my mind now — I can’t believe I made an eagle to get in on the mark.”

The eagle got Janewattananond to 13 under par for the long (six rounds) week, which wound up being the cut-off point for the top 25 and ties. In total, 33 players earned their European Tour cards for next season, led by Englishman Sam Horsfield, who won by eight shots.

The 33 players who have earned a European Tour card after today ?#ETQSchool pic.twitter.com/tRX8q4pmdD

— European Tour Q-School (@ETQSchool) November 16, 2017

Janewattananod won earlier this season on the Asian Tour, where he first made headlines in 2010 for making a cut at the record-young age of 14. Currently No. 172 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Janewattananond played in two PGA Tour events in 2017, missing the cut at Colonial and finishing T-39 at the CIMB Classic. Here’s a look at Jazz’s final-round scorecard from Q School:

Forget the DP World, I feel like this deserves way more attention. Congrats @jazzjanegolf ??? pic.twitter.com/KN7LMGNorA

— James Byrne (@jamesbyrnegolf) November 16, 2017

And he posted this on Instagram after his clutch performance:

We made it!!! It’s a long week for me but I broke my Q school cursed. And sorry for a being quiet on IG these pass 2 weeks it’s been a grind. 2018 European tour season here I come. Starting next week in @ubshongkongopen @etqschool

A post shared by Jazz Janewattananond (@jazzjanewattananond) on Nov 16, 2017 at 7:47am PST

Congrats, Jazz. Although, “Q School cursed” seems juuust a bit dramatic for someone who hasn’t even turned 22 yet.

The post Former teen phenom earns his European Tour card with eagle chip-in on final hole at Q School appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.