Conor Purcell isn’t worried about his difficult start to life on the DP World Tour and feels his golf is in a good place despite missing six cuts in eight starts.
Purcell has enjoyed steady progression in his golfing career over the last three seasons after initially turning pro during the pandemic. But for the first time he has had to deal with adversity on the playing side after a tough opening to his rookie campaign on the DP World Tour.
The 27-year-old arrived home from India on Sunday after missing his third successive cut but he is confident that the results will come and he can climb the Race to Dubai Rankings.
“My game is actually very good but results don’t speak for it. Just the way golf goes I have to keep doing what I have been doing I haven’t changed anything the last few years so just keep the head down and know the results will come,” Purcell told Irish Golfer.
“I’m as frustrated with bad golf as anyone is, it’s just about not beating yourself up and you are going to have bad weeks. It’s annoying having them at the start of the year but like I said the game feels good and no doubt it will turn.”
Purcell had been a fixture at the top of leaderboards as he progressed through the golfing pyramid but the DP World Tour has proven a tough learning curve so far with frustrating Fridays more commonplace than Sunday showdowns.
“I feel like I haven’t got away with bad shots I’ve hit them in bad spots that lead you to a double bogey here or there. When you are on the cut line it can be hard to fight those emotions and play freely,” Purcell added.
“Course set up is a bit more difficult and there is an element of not knowing the courses and having to re-learn the courses again, knowing where to miss it and where the good spots are to hit it so it’s all a learning curve.
“The game feels good and I need to keep focusing on the good stuff, there’s a lot more good stuff than bad stuff in there and it’s going to turn.”
2024 proved to be a breakthrough year for Purcell who won twice on the HotelPlanner Tour as he secured promotion to the DP World Tour. The second of those wins came in China which is where he will be jetting off to in a fortnight after a break at home and he hopes a return to a country where he has fond memories can kickstart his campaign ahead of the summer European swing.
“It feels good going back to a place where on my last start I won. I like golf in hot countries and stuff like that so looking forward to it, my parents are coming out which will be great and I am looking forward to putting two good weeks on the board.”
Purcell was part of a panel speaking at the Golf Ireland season launch in Carton House on Tuesday night where former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley reminisced about his days on the European Tour alongside Pádraig Harrington, Des Smyth, Darren Clarke, Peter Lawrie etc and how the Irish players all felt like one big family with nuggets of advice always available.
Things are different for Purcell. The Portmarnock man is often the only Irishman on the DP World Tour unless Tom McKibbin plays during an off week on LIV Golf or another Irish player receives an invite.
The days of having ten to twelve Irish players on the DP World Tour are long gone and loneliness is something Purcell has had to deal with this season although he was able to link up with McKibbin and Harrington briefly at tournaments.
“Being closer to home in the European swing it will be easier to bring family or friends out and just being the only Irishman out there I hope a couple of the lads can progress and we can have a bunch of us out there,” said Purcell who hopes Liam Nolan and Max Kennedy can earn promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour this year.
“Paul McGinley was saying when he grew up on tour there were loads of Irish out there and the craic was had every evening so looking forward to starting that pathway and having loads of us out there.
“You go through periods where you feel like you are out there on your own. Harrington was in the middle east when I was there so I managed to have some dinner with him and pick his brain for a couple of weeks which was good.
“It’s like starting a new job in a sense really, get used to the people you are playing with and have a few friends out there so I am getting there.”
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