Globetrotter Stephen Browne is hoping kick-start his pro career with a bang and avoid the agony of the tour school.

The Dubliner has clocked up thousands of miles on planes since he turned pro last autumn and now all he needs is a Challenge Tour win to boost his chances of a full tour card.

"I feel like the guy from 'Around the World in Eighty Days'," he said. "But after winning the European Amateur title I now feel ready to play in the big leagues."

"Paul McGinley told me that if I was good enough to win the European Amateur then I was good enough to play pro golf, so I'm looking forward to getting in there even though I have no status his season."

"The trick is getting used to the different condition because there's a lot more to it than playing golf.

"You have the travelling and fitness work and how not to get tired and then there are conditions. For example when you are playing at altitude the ball goes 20 percent further. And then there are the grasses. You've got Kikuyu and Bermuda grass and so on, and the grain on the greens is very hard to read. You do a lot of adjustments. But in Ireland you just drive there and you play. Now there's a lot more to it than meets the eye."

Rookie Browne failed at the first stage of the European Tour qualifying school last season.

But with five months of hard work in places as far a field as South Africa, Kenya and Zambia under his belt, he believes he's ready to take on the best in Europe.

"I've been all over the world in the last while," he said. "Life is great, fantastic and I just want to make some money now."

"It's been going very well I played pretty good in Kenya although my clubs didn't arrive until the Thursday and it was a bit messy. Then I missed the cut in Zambia by one because I called a penalty shot on myself playing a par five.

"I tipped the ball at address and made a bogey instead of a birdie. I played nicely but I got nothing on the greens. A lot of the southern African guys did very well down there because they are used to the grain."

Browne's win in the European amateur in Denmark gained him an automatic place in this year's Open at Muirfield if he remained an amateur.

But he turned pro instead and made an immediate impact on the Sunshine Tour last December when he finished eleventh in the Vodacom South African Players' Championship behind Ernie Els.

A bogey at the last hole cost the 27-year-old Dubliner a top ten finish and a valuable spot in the South African Open in January.

The Hermitage man shot a five under par 67 to qualify for the tournament proper and then carded rounds of 67, 70 and 68 to move up to joint fourth with a round to go.

Admitted the former singer: "I was pleased with that and it gave me confidence. Missing the top 10 finish was a minor thing. Now my plan is to play the Challenge tour. I'm going to play the EuroPro MasterCard Tour as well but I'll be looking for Challenge Tour invites.

"I've been lucky with sponsorship too because I got ¤20,000 from the Irish Sports Council which is fantastic."

Chubby Chandler - manager to Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Paul McGinley - has taken the young Irishman under his wing.

"Chubby's been great," admitted Browne. "His company, ISM, basically looks after everything and you take care of the golf. They do the press releases and tax and make sure you get paid. They look after invites for you too so I don't have to worry about all that kind of jazz."

But Browne has no regrets about giving up his job with the Bank of Scotland and the comforts of the amateur game.

"Well, it's a big learning curve to be honest. You are a small fish in a big pool again, " he admitted. "Hopefully I'll make as much money as possible on the Challenge Tour and I won't have to worry because if you finish in the top 45 you go straight to the third stage of the tour school and if you finish in the top fifteen you get your tour card.

"Paul McGinley said to stick at it despite the peaks and troughs. The Irish pros are great because they know where you're coming from."

Browne certainly has the talent to join them. And sooner than many might think.

Junior
Christy O'Connor Junior put his poor early season form behind him to talk to the PGATour.Com this week.

Asked to pick his dream fourball partners, O'Connor said: "I'd have to say Jack Nicklaus, Dave Stockton and Cindy Crawford.

"Well, Cindy would brighten up the colours a little bit and Dave Stockton is one of the nicest guys I've ever met in my life.

"Jack Nicklaus is probably the greatest player that the world ever saw."

More Junior
Christy O'Connor Junior is struggling to regain his form on the Senior PGA Tour in the US.

Before breaking his leg last season he banked a handsome $81,835 from just four starts.

But this term the Galway ace has made just $43,689 from his first six events.

Junior's bumper season came in 1999 when he won twice to grab $710,749 for the season in the US alone.

US kids
Scholarship kids Graeme McDowell, Mark O'Sullivan and Martina Gillen are going great guns in the US.

Portrush kid McDowell recently won his fifth title of the season while former UCD and Galway star Mark O'Sullivan got his first win at the Beau Chene Classic in Louisiana.

Dubliner Martina is the mainstay of the Kent State team and has risen to 42nd in the US Women's rankings this season.

McDowell is ranked third in the Golfweek College Rankings with Sligo's Sean McTernan the next best in 135th spot.

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© Brian Keogh 2002

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