Conor Purcell feels ready to hit the ground running as he makes his debut as a full DP World Tour card holder in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
The Portmarnock star, who won twice and finished sixth in this year’s Challenge Tour rankings to earn his card, joins Tom McKibbin among the wildlife at Leopard Creek in South Africa, feeling like he belongs.
“I’m really excited to kickstart what I feel is the start of my career,” said Purcell (27). “It’s been a couple of years before I’ve been able to get up onto DP and it’s nice to get the ball rolling.
“I’ve come through every stage bit by bit over the last few years, and if you had asked me four years ago, I feel like it would have been a big jump.
“But now I feel like I’ve earned my stripes at each level, and the Challenge Tour has prepared me to go out there and do more of the same next year, and hopefully I can be at home straight away.”
As Purcell continues his journey, Royal Dublin’s Max Kennedy makes his professional debut by spearheading a five-strong Irish challenge in the LIV Golf Promotions event in Saudi Arabia.
Kennedy (22) got through two rounds at the event in Abu Dhabi last year, but he’s hoping to go all the way this week as the winner after four rounds at Riyadh Golf Club will earn a lucrative spot on a LIV Golf team while the top 10 qualify for the Asian Tour’s International Series.
Players who finish in the top 20 and ties after round one advance to round two when scores are reset and they are joined by the automatic qualifiers.
The top 20 after round two will then advance to the final day, where scores will be reset again for a 36-hole shootout.
“I definitely learned a lot from last year,” said Kennedy, who won a Challenge Tour card at Q-School last month. “It was a different experience to anything else I’ve ever played in having a cut after each day.”
Kennedy, who is joined in Riyadh by 2023 Walker Cup players Alex Maguire, Liam Nolan, Mark Power and amateur Matt McClean, plans to be aggressive, but whatever the result, he has big goals.
“This is my first week as a pro, and my vision for the end of 2025 would be having full status on the DP World Tour and or the PGA Tour and getting two professional wins along the way,” he said.
Meanwhile, Matthew Jordan and Romain Langasque have been added to Great Britain & Ireland and Continental Europe’s Team Cup sides ahead of the match play contest at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort from January 10-12.
Seamus Power turned down the chance to be part of the GB&I set-up as he focuses on getting the PGA Tour season off to a fast start at the clashing Sony Open in Hawaii.
At 72-hole pre-qualifying for next week’s Asian Tour Q-School Final Stage, Paul Dunne was tied for seventh on eight-under at halfway in the race for 17 spots at Grand Prix Golf Club in Thailand.
Declan Kenny was 24th on five under with Waterford’s Kevin Phelan is a shot further back.
Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney was two strokes outside the top 20 at Springfield Royal Country Club with France-based Kerryman Michael Young three shots further back on two over.