Harrison Endycott used to say the most nervous moment of his life was the first time he played golf with former Prime Minister John Howard.
On Sunday, that changed when he took a five-shot overnight lead into the final round at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Huntsville Championship in Alabama only to drop two shots on the front nine for an anxious 37.
But coming down the stretch, Endycott mixed three birdies with a bogey to close out a hard-fought even-par 70 to remain at 16-under-par, winning the Huntsville Championship by five shots over Englishman Ben Taylor.
Endycott, who lost his mother Dianne to ovarian cancer when he was a 15-year-old, was also dealing with his grandmother’s death from last week. Naturally, Endycott let it all out after tapping in for his maiden Korn Ferry Tour win.
“Oh it’s huge,” 25-year-old Endycott said through tears on the 18th green at The Ledges golf course in Alabama. “I’ve just worked so hard I have had a lot of ups and downs in my life. I can’t believe it; I never thought Id’ win over here in the US.”
Those ups included winning the prestigious amateur Porter Cup in New York near Niagara Falls in 2016 and the World Amateur Teams Trophy for Australia. He also played multiple rounds of golf with former PM Howard at Avondale Golf Club on Sydney’s north shore, where they are both members and where Endycott’s coach, Ben Paterson, is based.
Endycott’s parents ran a cafe in Sydney for over 20 years and worked seven a days week just to be able to fund their boy’s stellar junior and amateur career.
Endycott, who now lives in Arizona, secured promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 via the third-tier South America circuit. His rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour came during the pandemic with exhausting travel restrictions.
“I mean, it’s just been a long journey to get here, and we dealt with a lot of real hardships, our family,” he said. “Sadly I lost my mum to cancer in 2012, and sadly last week I just lost my grandmother, too.”
He said he felt his mother and grandmother were watching over him as he closed out the win.
“(My mum) is always on my mind and same as my grandmother,” he said. “Sadly, life just is cruel. You’ve just got to embrace the great moments.”
The victory came with a $US135,000 ($A190,000) paycheque but more importantly boosts Endycott’s points in the Korn Ferry Tour’s standings – called ‘The 25’ – to 12th with 573 points. Typically on the Korn Ferry Tour, 900 points for the season is enough to lock up top-25 spot and a promotion to the PGA Tour.
The Korn Ferry Tour hands out PGA Tour cards to the top 25 finishers from the regular season before another 25 are dished out from the Korn Ferry Tour finals series.
Endycott is in the driver’s seat but knows there is plenty of work left.
“There was a time I didn’t think I was going to win again. I’ve been so frustrated at golf for a long time and it finally happened,” he said.
“I still have a long season ahead; I want to get some good work in throughout the rest of the year and try to achieve more; but right now I’m just so stoked.”
Meanwhile, Endycott’s fellow Australian Curtis Luck (74) finished at two under and in a share of 35th. The Perth native is 56th on The 25 standings.
