Liam Grehan and Rowan Lester hope they are on the cusp of a breakthrough in their professional careers after they both earned Sunshine Tour cards at Qualifying School.
Lester carded rounds of 67, 70, 64 and 68 to qualify in a share of third place on fifteen-under and in total he played the first and final stages in a combined 27-under-par after what he described as some of the best golf of his life.
Grehan meanwhile, already exempt through to the final stage due to his world ranking, was solid with rounds of 68, 68, 69 and 71 to qualify in 12th place on eight-under-par.
The top-20 players earned category 9 status with the opportunity to progress further after the mid-season re-rank.
It was a stressful week for the pair who had to deal with long lightning and fog delays while Grehan didn’t get to play on the first day and Lester played just eight holes on day two.
“It was stressful trying to concentrate for over 30 holes, our alarms went off at half four this morning so hopefully we won’t have to go through something like that again for a long time. Thankfully it’s done and dusted,” said Grehan who has experience of tournament golf on the Irish PGA region, Clutch Pro Tour and the occasional HotelPlanner Tour start.
“We’re going to join Royal Johannesburg and get a place so it’s going to make things so much easier.”
Both players are relishing having each other’s company in South Africa, knowing that they may need to rely on each other to make the adjustment once they move to Johannesburg full time.
“I personally wouldn’t come down here on my own so having Liam here helps a lot, being able to go for dinner a lot and having someone you know and can trust is huge. It’s too much of a change to do it on your own, it’s easier with a couple of lads,” said Lester of the Hermitage.
Lester, 28, was plying his trade on the Clutch Pro Tour last season but feels greater opportunities knock in South Africa with the tour set to be kinder on the bank account.
“I played amazing, yesterday was the best round I ever played in my life especially when I needed it,” he said.
“I was speaking to my mates and we were saying if you shoot five or six under you are going to have a good week so shooting a low one can really catapult you, shooting one or two under you are going to be hanging around the cutline.
Prize funds on the Sunshine Tour equate to approximately €100,000 per event and the cost of living is also cheaper.
“Me and Rowan were spending over a grand playing Clutch Tour, where as the entry is a fiver here for Sunshine and the entry for Clutch was €550,” said Grehan.
Lester added: “Five hundred and fifty five euro breaks your heart, you’re already 12 grand in the hole before you’ve already played well before anything else with just entry fees.
“A one hundred grand pot on Sunshine compared to 50 grand on Clutch makes the world of difference.”
There are also co-sanctioned opportunities on the Sunshine Tour, the top-50 on the Order of Merit get into early Hotel Planner Tour events early in the season while there is easier career progression to that tour and the DP World Tour.
Many Irish professionals in their mid to late 20s are trying to grind their way through the smaller tours but Lester views the Sunshine Tour as a serious career option.
“I don’t know why more Irish people don’t come down here. If you are single it’s the place to be.”
Grehan and Lester become the latest Irishmen to earn Sunshine Tour cards after Richie O’Donovan enjoyed a stint on the circuit while Roganstown pro Neil O’Briain was rookie of the year during his time.
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