Forget the wicked, there’s no rest for the winners. Actually, that’s not completely true. Connor Syme, for example, did have a bit of time off to savour his maiden win on the DP World Tour at the KLM Open last month.
In this game, though, you can’t afford to rest on your laurels. “It doesn’t become any easier just because you’ve won,” said Syme of a fickle business that has a habit of bringing folk down to earth with the kind of bump that should be accompanied by a warning to assume the brace position.
“I’m still working on the same things in my swing and the same stuff with my chipping and my putting. Obviously, the confidence is there that in a high-pressure situation I can get a win. But golf is just as difficult as it was before. It’s nice to enjoy the win, but it’s back to work.”
This week’s office is the Renaissance Club for the Genesis Scottish Open. While his fellow Scot, Robert MacIntyre, returns to this parish as the defending champion, Syme is looking to build on a sturdy share of 15th in the championship 12 months ago.
As well as all the bounty on offer in the domestic showpiece, there’s also a big old orange root vegetable dangling invitingly on a stick in terms of Open qualifying.
The leading three players, not otherwise exempt, will gain a tee-time for next week’s final men’s major of the season at Royal Portrush.
The Renaissance, then, doesn’t just had a lavishly appointed clubhouse. It’s got a last chance saloon too.
“This is my final opportunity to get in and it would be cool to go back,” said Syme who played in The Open the last time it was held across the water in Northern Ireland back in 2019.
“This is obviously such a massive tournament but that (an Open place) is the dangling carrot too. The thing with golf is that you always want something more. I'm trying to focus and hopefully play well enough to tick off a lot of things.”
During the course of his career, Syme has certainly ticked off a few boxes along the way. After a rewarding stint in the amateur ranks, Syme notched a victory on the second-tier HotelPlanner Tour as he graduated to the main DP World Tour.
With MacIntyre at the vanguard, the tartan army on the tour has made its presence felt in recent years. In a topsy-turvy game of peaks and troughs, it wasn’t that long ago that the crochety golf writers were bemoaning the lack of any Scots under the age of 30 on the tour.
The current crop – Grant Forrest, Ewen Ferguson and Calum Hill have also recorded wins in the last few years – have given us plenty to write home about.
It may be the cradle of the game, but Scotland certainly doesn’t have a divine right to success.
“When I was coming through amateur golf, the talent that we had, for whatever reason, didn't end up making it on tour,” said Syme, who will move out of the ranks of the 20-somethings by celebrating his 30th birthday this weekend.
“Obviously, it’s nice now to have quite a lot of us who have managed to get on tour and win on tour. Being from the home of golf, it definitely carries its pressures and stuff.
“But Bob (MacIntyre) is obviously doing absolutely brilliantly, and we are all trying to get to where he is.”
MacIntyre’s feats continue to drive on his compatriots. “Growing up playing golf with him, he always had that kind of tenacity and willingness to do really, really well in tournaments,” added Syme, who was a team-mate of MacIntyre in the GB&I Walker Cup side of 2017.
“Seeing him actually going on and doing it is really impressive. It shows it's possible and it’s very inspiring.”
Syme himself is ticking along quite the thing. His victory in the Netherlands finally got him over the line after three seconds, four thirds and 18 0ther top-10s on the main circuit.
“Everyone is so good, and it's really hard to win,” he said. Like a slogan for a pint of well-kent Irish stout, good things come to those who wait.
“When I won in Holland, it was like going back to being a kid when you're putting to win tournaments,” added Syme of those dreamy days all golfers had when you’d whisper ‘this for’ as you hovered over a putt. “All the reps I’d done was to have a moment like that.
“Obviously, the ones you think about more are The Open, the Scottish Open and the Masters. That’s the stuff you dream about. Having got a win, it's definitely given me a lot of belief that I can do that.”
Sometimes, those golfing dreams do come true.
