Having a quick peer at the European Tour’s early season schedule is a bit like leafing through the sun-kissed holiday brochures in a travel agents. South Africa, Mauritius, Australia, Abu Dhabi? If you were pondering a honeymoon, it would be ideal.
Perhaps that’s what David Law’s fiancée thought too? “We are getting married on December 29th,” said Aberdonian Law, who will tie the knot with his long-term partner, Natasha, on that particular day. “I’ll start up again in South Africa on the tour the week after but I’ll just be going myself,” he added with a wry chuckle. Oh well, the new Mrs Law will just have to enjoy the sun-soaked sands of the Granite City. We hear it’s very nice in January.
Law’s forthcoming wedding will put the tin lid on a memorable 2019 in which the former Scottish Amateur champion won his first European Tour title. That victory, in the Vic Open in Australia, came back in February. There wasn’t much of a honeymoon period after that, though. The 28-year-old missed his next three cuts. In fact, he struggled to scale the heights again as the season unfolded and eventually finished 92nd on the order of merit.
As a rookie on the main tour, however, it was job done and more. Keeping your tour card is one thing. Winning is quite another. And it takes a bit of getting used to. “It was such a big change,” reflected Law, who turned pro in 2011 and finally earned promotion to the European Tour at the end of 2018 after a long stint at the coalface
“It was just my fifth event on the tour and I won. I had played professional golf for so long without being on the main tour. My end goal was to get on to the tour not necessarily win on tour. All of a sudden I achieved the ambition of getting on the tour and very quickly moved up another level and won. I still pinch myself to this day.
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“The win gave me an exemption through to the end of 2020. You almost lay off, not in terms of effort or application, but I don’t think my focus was as intense as it could have been. I probably needed to be a bit more disciplined and say ‘let’s go and win again’. But if you win something that you didn’t really expect to win it’s hard to take it all in and re-set your goals and go again. It’s been a year in which I learned more than any of the previous seven as a pro. You start to realise how fine the margins can be."
The safety net a maiden win provided allowed Law to tweak his swing during the season – “I needed to flight the ball a bit higher, hit it a fraction longer and make the swing more efficient” – but tinkerings and titivations take time to bed in. "Hopefully it will make me a better player in the long run,” he said.
Law’s early-season win sparked something of a Scottish surge on the tour with Stephen Gallacher winning in India and Robert MacIntyre racking up a trio of runners-up finishes. MacIntyre is on course to be crowned rookie of the year in Dubai today and Law, who was promoted along with the Oban lefty from the 2018 Challenge Tour, remains full of admiration for his compatriot’s efforts.
READ MORE: David Law has the head for heights after tour win
“Any year you finish that high up is great but to do it in your first year when you are going to all these new courses makes it even more special,” said Law. “A lot of people won’t appreciate just what an achievement it is and how difficult it is to do. The main tour can be an intimidating place to be. It’s more of a step up in environment as opposed to standard.
"You need to be prepared for so many other things. Instead of just a range full of players on the Challenge Tour, on the tour you’ve got 156 players then caddies, tour reps, managers, so many more things. What used to take one-and-a-half hours on the Challenge Tour might take an hour or more longer now. You need to be quite ruthless with your time.
"When I was playing well, I was disciplined in my practice. When I struggled, though, I applied myself more but it’s almost a catch 22 as you end up hitting too many balls and changing too many things. I’ve learned that less is more."
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