Steve

Surry

The 37-year-old Englishman tried his hand at the European circuits, toiling away on the various third tier tours and twice playing seasons on the second tier Challenge Tour. But it never quite happened. He turned to the Sunshine Tour and has seen improvements. He’s made eight top fives in the last few seasons and this time last year even managed a win. Earlier in 2019 he added a pair of second places. The brutal truth, however, is that playing at this level remains a challenge to him. He was T11 at the Austrian Open back in 2010 and T39 in the (reduced) 36-hole Nelson Mandela Championship of 2011, but there are his only top 50 finishes in 23 starts. He is 1-for-4 on the course with five of his nine laps needing at least 78 blows.

The 36-year-old Englishman played mostly on the minor tours in the UK until recently, heading the fourth tier Jamega Tour in 2006 and 2008, and winning on the third tier EuroPro Tour in 2009 on his way to fourth in the rankings. But he struggled to translate that form at any sort of higher level. He made three Challenge Tour top tens in 2009 but not another one in his subsequent 21 starts. On the Sunshine Tour he has finally found his feet. He ticked a second place in each of 2013, 2014 and 2015, then this year he claimed victory in last month’s Vodacom Origins – Final. It’s lower level Sunshine Tour, but it’s something. He is 6-for-21 in European Tour events with a best of T11 in the 2019 Austrian Open.