[Photo: Pedro Salado/Getty Images]
If momentum counts for anything at this week’s BMW Australian PGA Championship, then Connor McKinney is surging at the right time.
The Scotland-born, Australian-raised tour pro earned a DP World Tour card for 2026 via qualifying school in Spain earlier this month, then spent a few days in Bali taking surfing lessons as preparation for the PGA and Australian Open.
RELATED: Minjee Lee wins her fourth Greg Norman Medal at PGA Awards
“Last wave, I got all the way into shore standing up,” the McKinney said of his surfing exploits. “[The instructor] told me after about five waves, because it would take me 20 minutes to paddle back out, he’s like, ‘Just jump off the wave halfway, otherwise you’re just going to have to paddle out and your arms are going to get a workout.’”
A workout is what McKinney’s golf game can expect before the year closes. In a schedule that will be more of a wind up than a wind down, he’ll contest Australia’s two most prestigious golf tournaments then end 2025 in Mauritius at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open the week before Christmas in a bid to make early inroads on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
That he even has that opportunity is a feat in itself.
McKinney, who won the 2022 Australian Amateur and was runner-up at this year’s Vic Open, survived the gruelling six-round final stage of Q-School. Although “survive” isn’t quite the word when you open with a 62 in the first round. In an event where holding the lead carries far greater comfort than in a regular tournament, McKinney rebounded from a second-round 73 to card four subsequent rounds in the 60s to finish fourth and comfortably secure a card.
“I’d had that Q-School circled since January,” he said. “So it was just a good progression. I started in Aus, going all the way along to when I played the Tartan Tour in Scotland and just felt like every round, I was just improving after a pretty horrific season last year [from which] I had to build myself back up.
“I think it was almost a blessing, not really having any status this year in Europe,” he continued. “Not having to go from Aus and just go and play 25 events on the Challenge Tour. It worked out pretty well.
“At the time, you think it’s the end of the world, but when you have a bit of time to decompress and go, This is my plan for the year, I’m going to get better at this, get better at this. And every month it was just a good progression. There were a lot of big steps and pivotal points, but I think winning on the Tartan Tour was a big first step. It was my first pro win and yeah, I just took it from there and played good golf the rest of the season.”
RELATED: Ageless Adam Scott chasing elusive win
As for this week, even at age 23 McKinney feels like an old hand at the Australian PGA.
“It’s my fourth PGA. I’m getting old,” he joked. “I’m pretty comfortable around this track. I’ve had some good results and good performances here before, so I’m keen to get out there.
“I had a good week off after Q-School because I think the best thing to do after that is just not touch a club for a week because it’ll catch up with you pretty quickly. So yeah, went to Bali for a few days, chilled, went out at home for another few days and got into the clubs middle of last week and have been working [on my game] since then. So I’m feeling pretty fresh again.”
McKinney, whose family migrated from Scotland to Perth in 2015, is viewing this week in similar fashion to Elvis Smylie a year ago.
“There’s probably similarities in it,” he says. “He’s obviously had a great week here and kicked on, so all credit to him. He’s had a great season and well deserved.”
While the opportunities are obvious, McKinney isn’t distracted. Even in such a nascent career, he’s already learned several of tour golf’s lessons.
“When I came out as an amateur, I came out and had a really good season. I had won Aus Am and the Links Trophy. So you’re feeling pretty good about yourself but then pro golf is different. I was probably a bit naïve. You hear people say it is different and you’re like, It’s [still] golf, how different can it be? But you really have to just throw yourself in the deep end to find out and you start off with maybe not too many great performances and you maybe start searching and going, What’s this? What’s that?
“But had a good team around me like [swing coach] David Milne to help me show me the ropes and I guess keep my head in one place and stick to the plan. But I guess when you’re playing 22 events a year and you can play four or five weeks in a row, sometimes you’ve really got to figure out what works best for you and how you’re going to operate in a week-to-week basis. So I guess it was just for me it was just finding out what works and how I operate in the scene.”
There’s every chance McKinney will learn more about what works best for him before the 2025 calendar comes down from the wall, which could prove vital on the DP World Tour in the new year. But first things first.
“I’m trying to win the golf tournament,” he insists. “The game feels like it’s in a good place and I can do so. But I’m starting my DP World Tour career this week, so I’m excited to get out there.”
