Sam Eaves set for elite golf event less than year after dad’s death

A real estate agent who plays golf twice a month is set to compete against an all-star cast including Cameron Smith in the $2 million Australian PGA Championship. It comes nearly 12 months after the death of his father who regularly played against the likes of Greg Norman. Go inside his incredible rise here.

Toowoomba's Sam Eaves (right) celebrates his PGA Professionals Championship National Final title win.

 

Last Christmas Eve Sam Eaves made the toughest decision in his life – turning off his father Alan’s life support.

After an extended battle with illness Alan underwent open heart surgery but the toll of the procedure was too much and he later died.

Less than a year on from that heartbreaking tragedy Eaves, 35, is celebrating the biggest win of his golfing career, the PGA Professionals Championships National Final title, a win he knows his dad would be proud of.

As well as earning him of $65,000 in prizemoney, Eaves nine under par three shot win at Heritage Golf and Country Club comes with automatic qualification for the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

Growing up on the Maryborough golf course, Sam always wanted to be just like his dad.

Alan Eaves was an elite golfer in his own right, regularly playing alongside the likes of Aussie golf royalty Greg Norman, Ossie Moore, Peter and Jeff Senior.

“It was hard not to think about dad throughout the whole tournament but particularly through the final round,” Eaves said.

“Digging deep imagining what he would be doing at home. He’d be watching the scores or maybe not.

“Sometimes he was too nervous to watch and he’d just wait for a phone call at the end of the day.

“He would be one of the first people I’d call at the end of a round – talking through the final holes, the putts I holed and the critical moments.

“He’d been there and done it all before so he knew exactly what I was going through.”

Eaves will tee off against an allstar field including the likes Jason Day, Cam Smith, Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis with $360,000 going to the winner of the tournament.

Toowoomba's Sam Eaves plays a shot during the PGA Professionals Championship National Final.

Golf however, hasn’t been about money or prestige for a long time for Eaves.

It is an “escape” for Eaves who often only plays two times a month with mates as he happily juggles the demands of being a real estate agent, father of three and husband.

“It is not my sole focus anymore,” the former Warwick Golf Club pro said.

“I get to go out there play golf for fun and enjoy the game for what it is.

“I’ve been there plenty of times when money was a factor.

“(Now) I don’t care. I am there to play golf and enjoy it. I don’t care about the result I’m there to enjoy myself.

“I’m not here to keep a tour card or go places in golf.

“I’m here to just enjoy golf as much as I can and that’s why I play so good, because I’ve got so much freedom.”

The Australian PGA tees off on November 21 and Eaves will head to Brisbane’s Royal Queensland Golf Club full of confidence.

With his brother Andrew, who is also his long time caddie, by his side Eaves said it will be hard to hide the golf fan inside him.

“I am beyond excited,” he said.

“It’s a European tour event, our PGA flagship event of the year … I am a massive golf fan who gets to be inside the ropes playing with superstars.

“What more do you want, honestly, and I get to have my brother caddie for me who has been on the bag for me for over 10 years.

“We’ve been through some highs and lows on the course but at the end of we walk off, we’re best mates and we have beers together.

“Could not be more excited.”

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.