Australian Open 2016: Call to go pro could cost Luck a shot at majors

Some players wait a lifetime to play in the majors. Amateur sensation Curtis Luck is backing himself to play plenty.

Brett Coletta is among a host for Australian Open amatuers making a big impact. He follows the flight of a drive at Royal Sydney yesterday.

Some players wait a lifetime to play in the majors. Amateur sensation Curtis Luck is backing himself to play plenty.

Hence, he is considering turning professional after the US Masters in April, a move that would cost him a spot in the British and US Open fields later that year. Luck would qualify automatically for those events as an amateur but as a professional he would need to place well in lead-up events to qualify.

To some, it would appear madness.

“Some people can’t get their head around losing that opportunity,” Luck said. “The players I have spoken to and the people whose opinion I value, they say regardless of what options you go with, you have to be confident.

“So if you’re going to play the majors, you have to be confident you’re going to play well and then go to Tour school and qualify (for the PGA Tour) that way.

“If you’re going to turn pro after the Masters, obviously you have to do the same — play well in US Tour events to take advantage of the opportunity.

“If you’re backing yourself to do well, you’re backing yourself to have a good career and play many majors down the track.

“Past US Amateur champions have had the chance to play several events on the US Tour and tried to get a card that way. It comes down to whether you are ready or not. I have felt ready for probably the last couple of months. Something has popped up that has postponed that. I have felt ready but having all these experiences thrown at me in the next five or six months, I see as something that can only improve my game.

“I feel like once April comes round I will be ready to go.”

Luck is part of Australian golf’s new breed — a group of emerging amateurs and young professionals who are set to make their mark in coming years. The 20-year-old West Australian, the second-ranked amateur in the world, earlier this year became only the third Australian to win the US Amateur.

He followed that up with a win at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. His reward was a place in the field at three of next year’s four majors. Before then, he will begin the Australian Open at Royal Sydney tomorrow alongside former world No 1 Jordan Spieth and ex-US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. In a fortnight, he will play the opening two rounds of the Australian PGA at Royal Pines on Queensland’s Gold Coast with another former world No 1, Adam Scott.

“This is still pretty new to me, playing in Aussie Open style of events. I had a pretty big crowd in the US,’’ he said.

“Nothing changes for me out there. I have to do what I always do — stick to the golf and shut it out. I have been playing pretty well the last few months so I am looking to keep my form up.

“This is all to me at the moment good preparation for my next year of golf. I haven’t had the chance to play too many events on this scale. So obviously get my head around the course, hit some good golf shots over the week and see what it is like to play with some crowds.”

Luck aside, Harrison Endycott and Brett Coletta — more recently the winner of the Queensland Open and runner-up in the NSW Open — are also ranked in the world’s top 20 amateurs.

Their former amateur teammate Cameron Davis won a cheque for $130,000 as he marked his US PGA Tour debut with a tie for 15th at the OHL Classic last week.

“We have a really good bunch, especially in the amateurs,” Luck said.

“We all spur each other on. I think there’s about eight of us who have pushed on. We travel with each other a lot and we have pushed each other on.”