Twenty-three-year-old Luke Brown, who plays out of Country Club Johannesburg, is rising through the Sunshine Tour ranks, writes MIKE GREEN.
He was the fifth first-time winner on the Sunshine Tour in 2021. Luke Brown’s victory at the Blair Atholl Championship in October was perhaps a surprise – but a minor one because, in the words of an old PGA Tour payoff line, ‘These guys are good!’
How good was Brown when he won? Perhaps his description of his tee shot on the 1st hole of the final round will give you an idea: ‘The start of that final round was crazy. I hit a driver down the fairway on the downhill 527m 1st, and it must have hit a sprinkler or a tortoise because when we walked over the top of the hill, I saw my ball 74 metres away from the green. It was insane. It was such a cool start.
‘I flicked a wedge into the green and two-putted for birdie. That settled the nerves pretty quickly and it gave me a ton of bragging rights having just hit a drive nearly 500 metres.’
From having to qualify for the first event of 2021 to getting his maiden Sunshine Tour win is quite a feat. ‘The most fun part about this golfing career is the journey, and I get a front row seat to it,’ he says. ‘All I was thinking while playing those qualifiers was how cool it would be to win one of these events, so to actually do it feels flipping awesome!’
At that Kit Kat Group Pro-Am in 2021 Brown not only qualified, but also finished in the top 10.
‘That was the first time I was in contention on the main Tour. That alone would have given me confidence but I managed to go one better and have the solo lead for quite a while on the final day,’ he says. ‘It didn’t turn out how I would have liked but that run of 50-odd holes playing great and being in a lead is certainly a priceless experience that I wouldn’t change for anything.’
He followed that with a quiet period, and, while he made a few cuts, it wasn’t until September that he got going properly again. ‘My putting was the weakest link at that time so I worked on it in the holidays before Kit Kat started, and that was the first event where I felt like I putted to a professional level,’ he says. ‘Then suddenly playing that well felt like I kind of spooked my putting away again, so the next few months was just me and my putter, sleeping together and everything.’
Two top-10s, at the Sunshine Tour Invitational in September and the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Mount Edgecombe a week later, gave Brown a sense that something bigger was just around the corner.
‘Those top-10s definitely gave me the taste of being in contention again, and all you want to do after having a taste is to get the full chicken dinner,’ he says. ‘I felt like I played with more confidence and intention from then on, and it’s nice to get reassurance that I was working on the right things, or at the very least that the practice was making me better.’
He got a solid start to the Blair Atholl Championship with a 69, but he was three off the lead. ‘Besides having to reload on my first tee shot of the tournament (it was found, luckily), it was a relatively easy first round and not many fireworks. Just a stock-standard 69 so lots of good shots and putts hit, but it felt like the hole was only big enough for 69. The most memorable thing was my friend Kyle Barker making a hole-in-one to finish his round off that day! An ace and straight to the scoring office – that must be so cool to do.’
Brown repeated the dose in the second round and was just two shots off the lead and starting to get a little excited. ‘That second-round 69 was so different to day one. I also had to do a ton of scrambling to keep my momentum going that day, my approach shots were slightly off so I either had to two-putt from 40 feet or chip and putt for pars. I credit that round to my putting. Only two off the lead at that point so I still left the course pretty upbeat and ready for day three.’
But a 71 in the third round saw Brown losing touch as Louis Albertse, one of the five first-time winners last year, went low to lead.
‘The 71 showed why Blair Atholl is considered tough and long,’ says Brown. ‘The wind blew in the afternoon and the pins were basically off the green, but I liked it because it showed another side to the course which we hadn’t necessarily experienced, being the first event at Blair Atholl, so it was quite educational for how the final round would play.
‘Going into the final round remembering how day three played, my goal was to birdie four out of five par fives, and make two or three elsewhere. It’s a lot easier to make bogeys on that course so there was a bit of safe play with a few holes. Those goals felt attainable and would keep me feeling like I was never out of the tournament until the final hole. Maybe it was luck but it seemed to work great.
‘After that opening drive, it was just pars and then a sand-save for birdie on the par-five 5th, so my goal of four out of five birdies on the par fives was still intact. Then there was a streak of great approach shots but only pars. It could’ve got frustrating but I kept telling myself that pars were better than you think around Blair Atholl and that the difficult stretch of 14 to 18 will decide it.
‘The birdie on 13 got the adrenaline going. I never looked at the leaderboard once on the final day so I was never sure of where I stood exactly but I knew I wasn’t far off after that birdie. Then came the best iron shot I’ve ever hit, on 15 – 6-iron, as pure as you like, straight at it to 10 feet. I felt I had to make that one and one more coming home to have a really good chance. I hit a great putt and made that birdie on 15, and two-putted from 20 feet on 16 and 17 for pars.
‘The excitement and nerves were definitely there, teeing off on the 18th, and I somehow managed to hit it roughly straight off the tee and again on my second to the green. I had my first quick look at the leaderboard on the green before my putt for eagle. I saw I had a one-shot lead and that Neil Schietekat was in the clubhouse already. So I could three-putt and still win but to be honest I would have not liked that; not to make that birdie to win, especially since it gave me the four out of five birdies on the par-fives.
‘After that everything was just surreal, so many people saying congratulations, hugs, autographs, photos and my phone was going crazy with everyone’s messages, I enjoyed it, though, and I hope I was able to show how much I appreciated all of them.’
We hear how much a win can change a player’s life on the Sunshine Tour. But how tough is it actually on the Tour? Does it live up to its reputation of being such a tough place to learn?
‘I like to think it didn’t change my life too much. Of course, the exemption for two years is great and sponsorship can be easier to get, but the game doesn’t suddenly make it easier for you. The hole is still the same size and everyone starts on the same score.
‘I suppose the Tour here is tough, but it’s hard for me to compare since I haven’t played much on other Tours around the world. I hope that will change this year. I can certainly say the competition is nothing to overlook. There is lots of proof that the players here are exceptional, compared to anywhere in the world. I wouldn’t want it any other way, though, it’s perfect for growing as a player.’
And Brown’s support system? How does he keep sane and go about building a career as a pro? ‘This is where I need to give credit to everyone around me. There are some incredible people who have changed my life already and it’s only the start.
‘My coach Doug Wood and his whole Wanna Be A Champion academy is a crazy-good support system on its own, but I am also extremely lucky to have my parents being very supportive and interested in my career. Even my friends on Tour are all supportive of each other and just make the whole experience more fun. And also my dog, who never asks what I shot but doesn’t seem to care either,’ he laughs.
For now, clearly his dog’s approach to life is the right one. But write off Luke Brown as a force on the Sunshine Tour at your peril.
BEST FINISHES
2018: Big Easy Challenge #8 (T4th), Big Easy Challenge #12 (T3rd), Big Easy Challenge #15 (T5th), Big Easy Tour Championship (1st)
2020: African Bank ST Championship (T6th)
2021: Big Easy Road to #5 (1st), Big Easy Road to #6 (T9th), Kit Kat Group Pro-Am (T5th), Sunshine Tour Invitational (7th), Vodacom Origins of Golf – Mt Edgecombe (T6th), Blair Atholl Championship (1st)
– This article first appeared in the February 2022 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine. Subscribe here!
Photo: Johan Rynners/ Getty Images
