Touted as one of the most exciting talents to emerge in Australian golf this past decade, Queensland’s Billy Dowling is ready to enter the world of professional golf.
Earning a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia card through the Future Tour Order of Merit was the last thing to tick off. Obviously winning the Aussie Am was up there and that felt pretty nice, but after I finished third at the Webex Players Series Rosebud, I was pretty certain. I was like, I think that’s definitely locked it up.
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I remember my first Queensland Open, when I was 15, pretty well. I was nervous, but I actually played quite well that week. I didn’t get to finish my second round because of darkness, so I had three holes left to go out and play on the Saturday. They were probably the three hardest holes on the course, and I finished bogey-par-bogey to miss the cut by one.
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I was pretty upset after that. I can’t remember which pro it was, but one of them came up to me in the carpark and said, “Look mate, this is just going to be a Saturday comp round for you a few years from now. I wouldn’t even worry about it.“ It’s so funny because I still remember it, my family still remembers it and it’s so true because that’s almost what it does feel like now. Unless you’re in contention, there might be a bit more pressure, but it does feel very normal being out there right now.
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The security of having somewhere to play and skipping Q-School was a big thing before turning pro. Last year when I did well at The National, that told me I can come out and contend and that I could win. I was in the last group there – I was in the last group at Queensland PGA as well – and it was like, I’m actually right here and I don’t feel like I’m playing my absolute best. I’m playing really good, but not to my absolute peak. It’s like I’m competing and I can actually win. I might have turned pro if I got that card last year, but I didn’t want to go to Q-School. That allowed me to go overseas and play in Europe and gain that experience in the US, which I hadn’t had.
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I got to see all the competitors in Europe and those courses, but to go and play the big-boy courses in the US that are a bit longer, with a different kind of penalties and a different field… I feel like I’ve really seen the whole world. I’ve played Asia-Pac, and I’ve kind of been everywhere. I’ve seen everything, which has been good.
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Going into last season, before I teed it up at the New South Wales Open, my only goal was to win. It was that simple. I figured if I win that just bypasses the whole Future Tour and gets me a card anyway. Obviously, Queensland PGA I came pretty close, which was fun.
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Being able to get over missed cuts or bad performances quicker is definitely really helpful because you’re going to miss a lot of cuts. It’s just the way it is. You could play really well for two rounds and still miss the cut. It’s going to happen. I still feel like if there was a tournament this week, I could go out and win. I don’t know how other people deal with it, but I feel like that’s probably something I’ve learned quite well, even just this year.
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I did have a bit of a reflection at the end of last year when I had a few second-place finishes, but I’m really not disappointed in it. I know a win feels great, but it just makes that next win that comes even better. When I won Aussie Am, I was like, It’s actually been a little while since I’ve won. It didn’t feel like that, but it had been. SA Am was the last thing I’d won, like, 18 months before. So when I won, I was like, Wow, I actually have to do a speech. I haven’t had to give a speech for ages.
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I can see the pathway now available to me through the PGA Tour of Australasia. I played with Kazuma [Kobori] just before he turned pro at the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Melbourne, and I’ve been watching and seeing how he’s doing. He looks right at home on the DP World Tour. It’s comforting to know that multiple guys have gone through that similar sort of process and now they’re doing well and competing on some major tours.
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I don’t know exactly what my first event as a pro will be just yet. The Interstate Teams Matches in Adelaide was my final amateur event and then hopefully I might be able to get some invites to play on the HotelPlanner Tour or even DP World Tour through the middle of the year. If not, I’ll do DP World Tour Q-School, because that’s ultimately where I want to be.
Photo courtesy of australian golf
