The last time Jack Singh Brar was in Abu Dhabi was when he was 14 and playing in the Daily Telegraph finals. Eight years on he’s getting his European Tour year going after getting off the Challenge Tour at the first attempt.
At the start of 2018 he held no status and was playing the Alps Tour – he achieved his first win as a pro in Egypt in the February – so the goal was to play his way into a category for the Challenge Tour this season.
His first start brought four rounds in the 60s in Turkey and a tie for 2nd, there were four more top 10s, a three-shot win in France and he ended the year in 6th spot on the money list.
Then, only last week, he was in the hunt for his first European Tour victory in Kenya…
The Challenge Tour is meant to be a learning process and a real battle to get off it yet you managed it at your first attempt…
I was 2nd in that first event and I didn’t realise how big that was at the time. I was obviously happy at the time but I didn’t quite know what it meant further down the line and I got a full season after that.
Because it was all new it felt fun to me but when you’re on it for five years it would get in your head a little bit. You need a lot of length towards the end of the season when the big money comes in at the resort courses where you can just smash it but in Europe it’s not as much, it’s more important in China and the Grand Final and places like that.
How pleased were you for your Walker Cup partner Scott Gregory to come through Q School?
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Definitely, Scott had a wrist injury through the season which is never good and Q School is so gruelling. I’ve never even been to third stage but I’ve heard stories of how long it is. It must be so weird to play four rounds and you haven’t achieved anything at that point.
I only know the Challenge Tour boys on the main tour, I obviously know a lot of the other faces but I don’t know them so it will be nice to have someone to play practice rounds with.
What about the late invites and the need to learn the courses?
Luckily I didn’t have any late invites so I could plan at the start of the season where my seven invites/starts would be and I got all the ones I wanted so I knew in January where I would be playing.
After my good start I could turn down events which is where you want to be. I got some late invites into some European Tour events and it’s hard to get your head in the game even though it might be three or four days before. But you’re not in tournament mode as you’re practising and thinking about starting your winter work but you’re not going to turn anything down.
Thankfully I had a few sponsors too – Nike, the Blackmore Group and Pulseroll – so I also didn’t have to worry quite as much for funds. And then that first tournament set me up for the rest of the season.
What did you do about a caddie on the Challenge Tour and what will you do this year?
I had Dan (Clark) with me all of last year and it will be the same this. We got together at the end of 2017, he was working for an IT company, was an assistant, and he didn’t want to go down the PGA route. He had caddied for Gary Emerson a bit on the seniors tour and asked before but I was in no position. Then I turned pro and wanted someone local and quite young and we got together.
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It is quite a big advantage as a lot of the guys are pulling their own trolley and it’s only until get the final few events when most players have caddies.
It’s just a question of funds as you might play alright and just make the cut but you’re still losing money and then you have to pay out a caddie.
How much does a full-time amateur career and your time with England Golf help for when you turn pro?
I’ve played in a lot of countries, I played the US Amateur a couple of times and it does help but only a little bit. You are so well looked after and then you go home for a month.
As a pro it is a lot more relentless and there is a lot more time away. Last year I played 17 events on the Challenge Tour and 26 in total but it feels like a long time away. You don’t feel like you’re living a life as it’s the gym and then the course and the hotel so ideally you won’t be more than four weeks away but sometimes you don’t get the opportunity to say no to some things.
Interview continues on the next page where Jack talks us through a couple of strange incidents at the Walker Cup and having a global superstar for a manager…
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How hard is it to win away in Walker Cup?
You don’t realise how much support they have until you are over there. I played Stewart Hagestad who was the local boy and a member at Los Angeles Country Club in both singles and I couldn’t believe it, everyone was chanting his name on the 1st tee. I had never heard anything like it anywhere else. It is 18 holes but it feels a lot longer as so there is so much going on, it goes quickly but it feels like a 36-hole match.
I was up early on in the first match and six up through 10. He then had a switch of momentum and it felt like he was winning – he hit this shot from 240 yards to two feet and he said, “I’m back, I’m coming for you.” He literally said that to me.
In an ironic way?
I don’t know, it was a bit weird and I couldn’t tell if it was a joke. Then with the support he had it felt like everything was going against me but I closed him out.
We’ve only won away twice which says everything.
You and Scott beat Cameron Champ in the Saturday foursomes, what do you remember about that?
I remember hoping that I wasn’t teeing up with him, I’m not that long and I’d heard that this dude was long. On the 2nd it’s quite a demanding tee shot and you can’t really go right from 290-320.
I hit a good drive to leave Scott a 5-iron, Cameron hit this spinny cut and I thought he’s dead but he was so far up there and he left his partner a wedge in.
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He’s now won on the PGA Tour which is mad. He lost both his matches on the first day but you can never tell after one weekend and it’s a phenomenal achievement.
You had a chance to win all your four matches?
That would have been awesome. I got off to another good start against Stewart but I couldn’t hang on. I ended up losing at the 17th when I hit a bunker shot, hit the lip and then hit back of the sand with my club. The bunkers had no sand in and I didn’t even know what had happened. I hit my next shot to 10 feet and the referee started walking over and you know then that you’ve done something wrong. I had no idea what I had done as I was so caught up in the moment.
Is it worth staying an amateur for?
I can see why people say yes and no. For sponsorship then you maybe should try and play Walker Cup as it’s easier to get some management and then sponsors but you can also go the EuroPro or Alps or Q School route. If I hadn’t done anything on the Challenge Tour through my starts then I would now be in the same position as someone who didn’t play Walker Cup and turned pro year earlier.
I told my cousin to turn pro as he’s too far off the Walker Cup so he might as well start now and work his way up. If you’re good enough you’ll make it.
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What was the highlight of your amateur career, winning the Lytham Trophy or the Walker Cup?
Probably the Walker Cup as it was in America and we got to do some amazing things as a team like Universal and The Late Late Show. It was the best 10 days and being in a team environment is rare other than playing for the national side.
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Is Lytham the hardest set-up you’ve played as a pro or amateur?
By far, as a pro they will move some of the tees around. In most amateur tournaments you are off the plates all week and they’re not moving, they don’t want low scores for some reason. On tour they’ll give you a chance, if the wind’s up they push the tees forward. As an amateur if you can’t reach, you can’t reach.
How did you get together with your management company Modest! Golf?
I started talking to them at Hampshire Salver in 2017, I first met Mark (McDonnell) there and we spoke a lot through the season. They got me some free clothing from Nike which is always a help. It’s not too hard to get clubs but clothing is always nice. And the month before the Walker Cup I knew I was signing with them and we announced it the day after.
One of their directors is Niall Horan, how pally are you with him – good mates or management mates?
Yeah, more a management mate! We had a Christmas party and he’s a really good guy, very humble and so down to earth. He loves golf and is really good for the game as he brings a lot of people to the game.
At the Omega pro-am with Rory it brought so many young girls to the club, it was crazy.
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