No more Mr Nice Guy? Well, that’s not necessarily true. Euan Walker has always been a pleasant, mild-mannered and erudite young man and will no doubt remain that way.
In a profession, however, that can be as merciless as an assassin on commission, Walker is developing a ruthless side. “For too long, I’ve taken on information and just always done what I’ve been told,” said the Ayrshireman. “In the past I’ve probably been too nice. But as a professional golfer, you’ve got to be selfish and make better decisions, otherwise you don’t have a business.”
Walker certainly got the business done last Sunday as he conjured the kind of finish that grandstands were invented for to win his first European Challenge Tour
title in the British Challenge at St Mellion.
His birdie, birdie blitz on the closing two holes thrust him to victory and propelled the 27-year-old into the promotion places to the DP World Tour with just two events of the campaign to go.
It was a timely reward for Walker who has certainly put in the hard yards and has approached his job as a pro with the meticulous attention to detail of a forensic pathologist. “I’ve left no stone unturned,” added the Barassie member of this tireless quest for improvement.
It’s probably a good job Walker studied mathematics during his spell at college in the US because the number of golfing gurus he has spoken to, worked with and taken sage counsel from could test Carol Vorderman’s ability to crunch figures and data.
In addition to his long-serving coach, George Boswell, Walker has absorbed pearls
of wisdom from the likes of Alan McCloskey, Gregor Monks, English national
coach Graham Walker,
putting specialist Mike Kanski and 3D biomechanics expert, Mark Bull.
“I really value everything I get from different people, taking bits and pieces from everybody and combining it all,” said Walker. “Ultimately, I’m the coach and I’m getting as much information about my technique and processes as possible, Then I can work out what’s relevant, what’s going to help and what isn’t going to help.
“You could have the best coach in the world and they could know everything, and they might ask you to change something, and technically you might be better, but that might make your golf worse.
“In professional sport, I think everybody who desires to be successful is probably pushing too hard. If you’re not pushing too hard, you’ve either made it or you’re not going to make it. Unless you are supremely talented, which is a very small number of people, you have to be willing to do so many things that other people are not. I’m not talking about enormous life sacrifices but things like putting in an extra hour of practice or doing that little bit extra somewhere. I’ve been willing to take a gamble on things then pursue them until it’s worked or it’s clear that it won’t work.”
A former Walker Cup player, and runner-up in the 2019 Amateur Championship, Walker’s fledgling professional career was decimated by the onset of the Covid pandemic.
It was a tough introduction to the rigours of touring life.
“I kind of stalled a bit during Covid,” he reflected. “We didn’t play, I didn’t get the opportunity to practice as much and, when I came back, things were a lot different.
“The whole situation – travelling, being in hotels. It was challenging to do that, having never experienced life as a professional before and you think, ‘is this what being a professional golfer is like? Because it’s not that much fun’.”
Walker weathered the storm, though, and is now hoping to ride the wave of optimism and confidence all the way to the main tour. “What kept me going (during the tough times) was the realisation that I love playing golf,” he said. “For a while it took over as a job and I had to realise that golf is something I’m still passionate about. If I wasn’t a professional, I’d still love golf. I’ve been able to capture that feeling more, relax a bit and play better. I’ve given myself a chance of promotion that I never thought I was going to have in the earlier part of the season. I want to make the most of that opportunity.”
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