HUMBLE, Texas – Without the luxury of PGA Tour status, Julian Suri is simply looking for a place to play and test his game against the world’s best. That dedication has been put to the test over the last two weeks as he ran the gamut of professional golf before ending up at the Houston Open.
Suri was the last man to gain entry into last week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, the beneficiary of a late withdrawal from Joost Luiten. Suri’s position inside the top 75 in the world rankings earned him a spot in Austin, but it did nothing to help him secure a tee time this week at the Golf Club of Houston.
So after he bowed out in group pool play, Suri packed up and drove a few hours east before trying his hand at the Monday qualifier in Houston, where more than 100 players sought one of four spots available in this week’s field.
The shift from a WGC event to a Monday qualifier was a bit jarring, to say the least.
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“It’s a little slower pace. A little less people, a little different crowd on the day before the start on the range,” Suri said. “But at the end of the day, it’s just golf and I knew I was playing well so I’ve got to take it.”
Suri shot a 7-under 64 in the qualifier to earn medalist honors, and he followed with a 6-under 66 in the opening round to sit one shot off the lead. Should he win this week, he would make the meteoric rise from Monday qualifier to Masters invitee in the span of a week.
The 26-year-old American won last year on both the Challenge Tour and European Tour, following an international path previously trod by the likes of Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein on their way to PGA Tour status. While Suri has yet to lock in long-term status in the U.S., it seems bowing out to eventual champion Bubba Watson during pool play last week may have been just the catalyst he needed.
“I do find I play better coming out of match play. It just gets you in a good mindset,” Suri said. “You’re always in the moment, and it’s always one hole at a time, figuring out how to win each hole whether it be against Bubba Watson or just the golf course. So I do kind of like that sort of shift in mentality a little bit.”
Source: Internet
