Conor Purcell has achieved his main objective this season of earning a card for the 2025 DP World Tour after winning twice during a breakthrough campaign on the Challenge Tour
Purcell’s quest for a DP World Tour card took off after he won the Black Desert NI Open in Galgorm Castle in July to break inside the top-10 on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and after winning a fortnight ago in China he has climbed to 4th in the standings ahead of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada.
With a win this week, Purcell can become just the second Irishman and first since Raymond Burns in 1993 to win the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, and he is relishing the task at hand.
“Absolutely. It’s amazing what a win can do for ranking points out here and it just shows that you are never that far away,” said the Portmarnock man who will be joined by Gary Hurley and Dermot McElroy who are making their debuts in the event as they look to join Purcell at the top.
“Missing the cut the week before and then going out and winning feeling like you are not as close to a win to suddenly feeling like I can push on and try to climb the rankings even further.
“It’s just about putting in the work and what I’ve done over the last few months has got me into this position,” he added.
Purcell qualified for the Grand Final last season in his first full season on the Challenge Tour but despite finishing 6th in the 45-player field in Mallorca, it wasn’t quite good enough to break into the top-20 and earn a DP World Tour card.
The Dubliner has regrouped and moved up a level and his two wins are a testament to that.
“There’s an element of relief there. I’ve always felt like I was capable of doing it,” Purcell said of his win in July.
“Someone said to me that it’s all well and good telling yourself you are going to get a win one day but actually doing it is very satisfying for myself and everyone around me and anyone who works with me as a coach or whatever the case may be.
“It’s just gratifying to see all the work you’ve put in since I started playing this game properly at thirteen years of age and here we are now having won on the Challenge Tour.”
Purcell has had to overcome a lot of obstacles in the early stages of his professional career but every season has been a year of steady progression and everything is about to fall into place at the Road to Mallorca Grand Final.
The 27-year-old began life on tour on the Alps Tour and found a burst of form in 2022 that saw him come through the Alps and onto the Challenge Tour where he played well enough in limited starts to earn a full card for 2023.
“I’ve always thought that of myself. I never thought that I would turn professional and all of a sudden just become a European Tour winner in my first year.
“I would like to think that the way I go about life is gradual progression and not that I’m saying that if I was to get off this tour I’d be confident in myself to just keep building on that and climb the rankings wherever I am.
“I feel like I frame pro golf quite well in my head. I don’t expect anything flashy. I know the DP World Tour will have its own challenges, it’s not all rosy. I have planned for every scenario if it’s good or bad and I think with all the experiences I have had over the last few years that I can deal with whatever comes my way.
“I don’t feel like I am looking back at the last year wondering if I am getting better. I just keep putting in the work and you’re kind of seeing the bulk of five years now that is getting me to this point now.
“The people around me have been very supportive, we had good plans and we haven’t really dwelled on the time when it was Covid, I was happy taking time off golf, I wasn’t in a rush to get back into it to get out on tour and I think it has been a nice progression the last few years.”
Purcell’s journey to this point has been a process and he won’t deviate from that ahead of the Grand Final.
“Everyone knows golf is an expensive sport and ever since I have turned pro I would never have been able to do it off my own back, everyone has been a part of it. I have certain sponsors now but everyone’s played a role in getting me to where I am today.
“I’m quite lucky with the people I have around me that I’d say they keep me very grounded and we don’t really think too far ahead.
“There’s different stuff that has gone out saying that I am in a lovely position to earn a card or whatever the case may be. But I have put in very consistent work this year and it hasn’t changed if I missed the cut or if I won a tournament as I did in Galgorm, every Tuesday or Wednesday is the exact same in preparation.
“I set out a plan for the week, I set out some targets for myself that I want to achieve and have my own little wins within the week itself and it doesn’t have to be winning the tournament. If I was to go out and not feature on the leaderboard, a successful week could still be finishing low down but carrying out the business that I wanted to.
“I feel like I have done a good job of adjusting to what the tournament is in front of me is asking of us. I have proven to myself that I can play well on different grasses and different climates. I enjoyed it here last year.”
It should come as no surprise that some of Purcell’s best performances have come in some of the bigger events on tour while he also has a career high T7 in the DP World Tour’s Australian Open.
The Challenge Tour is not a popular tour when it comes to attracting spectators which is something Purcell admits he has struggled with at times.
Because of this, Purcell is relishing the prospect of playing in front of crowds week in week out on the DP World Tour, a scenario he feels will help him adapt to the higher level and manage expectations.
“I love playing in front of people, it helps me engage in the tournament because Challenge Tour events can sometimes feel a little bit flat when there’s nobody watching so I am really excited to tee it up again. Everyone will have expectations of me but once I can control the little monkey inside my head I’ll be happy.”
The DP World Tour will be just another step on the ladder for Purcell who is targeting the PGA Tour and playing in major championships. But he knows any further success will be driven by the standards he has set himself to get to this point.
“I think golf is such an individual sport that I think it’s important that we hold ourselves accountable to certain standards we set ourselves. I’ve known myself since day one and I’ve just pushed forward and tried to get the best out of myself.
“If you look at anyone who’s done really well in their career, they’ve just become the best version of themselves. They’re not trying to mold into what tour life should be, they’re just trying to be themselves. I feel like I do that really well.”
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