Khan's drive leads to Tour

13 April 2012

It has been a long time coming, but Chingford golfer Simon Khan has finally got his shot at the big time. At the end of last year he won his European Tour card via the qualifying school finals in Spain, earning himself playing rights on the money-drenched PGA circuit.

But you could say the 29-year-old has earned it the hard way.

"It was my sixth attempt at the qualifying school," he said. "I'd never even made the final six rounds before, so when I picked up the 24th card (out of 36), I was delighted."

Khan took his first steps as a Tour pro in the Omega Hong Kong Open, where he made the cut and earned the price of a couple of pints in prize-money.

His next assignment was in the much classier Bell's South African Open at the Durban Country Club. Khan was in the company of Ernie Els, reigning US Open champion Retief Goosen, former Open champion Paul Lawrie and eventual winner Justin Rose.

If he had cared to look down the betting list, Khan would have seen his own odds of 125-1. But any fanciful notion he might have had of winning the tournament, which carried a total prize fund of around £500,000, was wrecked by an opening round of 74.

Khan told Standard Sport: "I'm still getting used to the differences in playing on Tour. For a start, there are people watching, which I'm not used to.

"I wouldn't say we had a huge gallery for our match (Khan's threesome was made up by two local players) but there were certain points on the course where a crowd had gathered, and that was pretty new to me."

The last time Khan remembered having a gallery watching him was in The Open in 2000 at St Andrews, where he played as a qualifier.

However, Khan is not about to start getting carried away by dreams of fame.

He added: "It's been a struggle getting this far, I don't mind admitting that.

"I've had to do all kinds of different odd jobs to keep things together. I've done roofing and pipe-fitting, as well as working in the pro shop at my club, Toot Hill, and giving lessons.

"For the last two years some businessmen in Essex have helped with sponsorship, and that's been a huge help, but I'm far more aware now what it means to have my Tour card.

"That's why it was such a relief when I made it through qualifying."

Khan's first aim is to secure his card for next season as quickly as possible. He admitted: "I'd hate to go into the last few events needing good results to stay on Tour. I'll probably be guaranteed around 22 to 25 tournament entries during the season, so it's up to me.

"I'm determined to enjoy it. It's a fantastic job, playing golf and seeing all these different places."

Also making his European Tour debut in Durban was Chris Gane, a 27-year-old from Northwood, Middlesex. Gane is a graduate of the Challenge Tour, on which he won two tournaments last season. Total prize-money of about £40,000 earned him ninth place and one of the 16 Tour cards up for grabs.

He made a sparkling start to his PGA Tour career, carding a one-under-par 71 in his first round, which was a couple of strokes better than Els could manage.

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Khan's drive leads to Tour

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