Jimmy Mullen interview: A rookie year to forget in the paid ranks

Precisely 12 months ago Jimmy Mullen’s world was a pretty rosey one. The Royal North Devon long-time member had just turned pro, with a handicap of +5, in something of a blaze of glory. He had won all four of his matches at the Walker Cup at Lytham, only the fourth British/Irish player to do so in the 93 years of the competition. Mullen then led for the first two rounds of the Dunhill Links in Fife after opening up with a 64 at Kingsbarns. The Englishman eventually finished in a tie for 30^th to pocket €36,000.

A month later Mullen headed to the final stage of Q School having finished top of the pile at El Saler, one of the four Second Stage venues in Spain. To most observers he looked a shoo-in for a place on this year’s European Tour.

But then it didn’t play out as expected and the past year has seen Mullen stall in his progress. Few sports are as fickle as golf, one tournament can seem a lifetime away, let alone a whole year.

This season Mullen made 14 starts on the Challenge Tour, played five times on the weekend and brought in just €5,808…

When you turned pro what did you expect in terms of starts? I knew I was going to get the Dunhill and the Challenge Tour event the week after and then I signed with BlackStar and they guaranteed me eight starts on the Challenge Tour this year. I went to Q School and missed out there but I did get six starts from that so I had a pretty full schedule for 2016.

Is the Challenge Tour what you had anticipated? The courses are different to what we play in amateur golf where we mainly play links and the set-up is pretty much as hard as possible. On the Challenge Tour I played 14 events and only four had rough. It can be a putting comp really.

We tried to get invites for events where I wouldn’t get into. I ended up travelling to two tournaments at the last minute on the Wednesday, I had never played the course before but I felt like I had to go as I was playing terribly and had no money.

The biggest learning curve was going from week to week, I would have been better off playing one week well rather than three weeks and trying to find your game.

Ping sponsored me for two years and we managed to find one sponsor, a guy in Bath which was a one-year contract so I have just about broken even this year.

When did people stop showing an interest in you?

The week after the Dunhill. There’s always someone else on the way up the following week. Ashley was 12^th in the Open at St Andrews but not one person mentioned him at the Open or talked about him since.

Paul Dunne ended up finishing 30^th but achieved his card at Q School so got the sponsors. Ashley didn’t get one other than Nike. You have to keep doing well as there’s always another story and then you’re gone.

I don’t think very many UK players had any sponsors on the Challenge Tour, you have to hope that someone locally will help you out. No massive company is going to back you and you can understand that.

How thrifty have you had to become? The Challenge Tour do a good job of giving official hotels but sometimes they’re not the cheapest and you’re not playing well so you can’t really afford it. Ashley Chesters and I were next to each other on the list so we tried to organise it together, one would do one week and the other do the next.

If you got in late to tournaments you would have to stay in the more expensive places and then have to get a hire car as everyone else was already there.

How many starts will you get in 2017? With my category I’ll be lucky to get three events so I will then try and get another seven invites and go again. If you start the year well you have a chance as you can try and work yourself into the top 45 and get the re-rank in May time.

If you can do that you will have a good chance to get in the rest of the tournaments. If you don’t get off to a good start you are better off concentrating on the EuroPro Tour to be honest.

What has gone wrong this year? I have got too bogged down in the golf swing. I flip it at the bottom of my swing and thought I had to change it. As an amateur I was too streaky and I wanted to be there week in week out, when it’s good it’s good but the bad weeks aren’t good enough. I’ve not had the time to make the proper changes and I have then lost confidence.

How did you shoot 91 in Switzerland? I missed a putt for 90 and tapped it in. I got there at 10pm on the Wednesday so I had never seen the course and shot five over first round.

After nine holes I thought I needed six under to make the cut and then hit it left and lost it so that was that. The rough was the thickest I have ever played and, if I hit it in the rough, I would leave it and walk on as my playing partners were right on the cut mark and my chance had gone. I think I had to play the last two holes with one ball.

I had some nice feedback on Twitter after that!

What is Q School like? I won the week before at El Saler and that was probably my best ever four rounds from tee to green. So going to Catalunya I had loads of confidence and I didn’t want to over practise but that meant I underdid my preparations. I was a bit too lacklustre and I didn’t prepare as I would normally and played terrible in parts.

Is it as nerve-wracking as everyone always makes out? I wasn’t that nervous as it was my first time. I had to shoot five under in my fourth round and I got to three under and then doubled 14. I birdied the last to miss by two.

Had I made the cut the nerves I’m sure would have kicked in, so I didn’t get the full experience.

Is it a strange environment with players there for all sorts of reasons? I was lucky enough to play with Edoardo Molinari, it is amazing that someone like him was there but everyone is there for the same reason and he was just another player you have to beat. I don’t really tend to worry about what others are doing.

I watched you at Lytham and your single-mindedness looked to be a big part of your make-up… I would say so yes, you have to be like that if you are going to be successful at golf. It is you and your caddy but the player has to make the final decision.

Did the Walker Cup help give you a leg up in the professional game? It doesn’t make a difference, if you think a strong amateur career will get more starts then that’s a load of rubbish. Just because you played Walker Cup doesn’t mean you’ll get more starts, management companies have too much say now. Unless you have a management company you won’t get starts.

Do you compare notes with your former amateur team-mates? I talk to Ashley and we talk about how much easier it was with England. Graham Walker was at most events and you are at training camps almost every month, you almost can’t get into a bad place technique wise or mentally. It is a lot easier to keep rolling out the results.

On the Challenge Tour you’ve not got the money to have your coach out there with you most weeks and not much time at home so you are doing most of it yourself – unless you know your own swing really well you are going to struggle. I’ve tried making changes and you’ve got no chance.

Will you be better equipped in 2017?

I need to think better and trust it more. I have seen Martin Fricker a few times but not this year so I will start that after Christmas. I will try and get my swing where I want it and then work on the mental game.

Do you have any idea what your schedule will look like? Not a clue, I’ll take it as it comes and hope for the invites. If I can play well and top 10 it in my first start I’ll then get in the next week.

Ben Stow had the same category as I will have – he got an invite to Egypt and finished fifth, that got him into Madrid where he was second so he had made around €26,000 and basically had a full card off the back of one invite.