John to build on debut pro season

The 19-year-old turned professional at the beginning of 2018 and after a shaky start, hasn’t missed a cut in his last six events finishing in the top-10 five times and a tie for 33^rd at the tri-sanctioned Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways.

“My game is in pretty good shape, I played pretty well last week, I ended up coming 9^th, I had a bit of a rough finish but that’s okay. Then the two weeks leading into that I came 8^th at the Victorian PGA and 7^th at the Northern Territory PGA so it’s been pretty good the last three tournaments,” said John.

“Looking at the events I was going to get at the start of the year I didn’t expect to be in this position but I’ve had a pretty good season really. I missed the cut at the Vic Open and New Zealand PGA Championship which were my first two events so it probably had a bit to do with nerves.

“Since then I’ve had five top-10s and 33^rd in Fiji so it’s been pretty positive. I’m just waiting now for my first win really, the first few events I was just wanting to make a cut but I’ve been pretty competitive all year and now it’s just about getting that win.”

The Brisbane Golf Club, host of the this week’s Isuzu Queensland Open from 1-4 November presents a golden opportunity for John to breakthrough and capture his first professional title in just his first year as a pro.

He’s familiar with the Queensland track after playing a number of events as an amateur including last year’s Isuzu Queensland Open when he made the cut.

“It’s great, I love The Brisbane Golf Club course, I played last year, I’ve played Men’s Interstate here, I’ve played a lot around here,” added John.

“It’s probably one of the weeks I look forward to the most, I thought this is the week I feel the most comfortable, I’ve played the most golf around this course.

“I went out Monday and played nine holes and didn’t play that good but I got around in a few under par, it just feels familiar out there so I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully it’s a good week.”

Beyond the Queensland Open this week, John is eyeing off the international stage and is currently booked in to play the first stage of the Asian Tour Q-School, however a strong performance this week could see him climb the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and move closer to securing exemption into the final stage.

“I’m in to the first stage of Asian Tour Q-School and I’m a chance of improving to the final stage if I can get higher up into the top-30 of the Order of Merit, I’m 39^th at the moment.

“I need a good finish to the year to get straight into final stage and maybe get my card over there. Then things can change pretty quickly in terms of where I can play in the next few years.”

Like many, John’s ultimate goal is to secure a spot on the world’s premier golf stage, the PGA TOUR. He says his home Tour presents some great opportunities to catapult a pro onto the international scene.

“The PGA TOUR is obviously the end goal like every guy out here, I think going through the Asian Tour and even the PGA Tour of Australasia now is a great way to get there,” added John.

“I’ll get four events if I finish top-30 here that are co-sanctioned with Europe and Asia so the big money events count towards more and more opportunities internationally and of course all roads lead to the PGA TOUR in some way.

“It can change quickly but I’m looking forward to it, I’m still in my first year as a professional so there’s no rush. I’m pretty happy with my year up to this point.”

Cameron John will begin round one from the 10^th tee at 11:35am with Darren Beck and Rick Kulacz.

Tee times are available at pga.org.au.

The Isuzu Queensland Open will be played at Brisbane Golf Club from 1 – 4 November. Entry is free for spectators all week.

In addition to the winner’s share of the $110,000 prize purse, the champion will receive Official World Golf Ranking Points and be fully exempt onto the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2019 season.