Swede David Lingmerth begins life as an Affiliate Member of The European Tour at the Australian PGA Championship this week as he begins a journey which he hope will end with a place on Darren Clarke’s 2016 Ryder Cup team.
Lingmerth’s victory at Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament in June this year – where he defeated Justin Rose in a sudden-death play-off – heralded the 28 year old’s ascension to world golf’s elite, and he is hoping to cement that status with a sensational 2016 which will culminate in a Ryder Cup debut for team Europe.
Speaking to the media ahead at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast, Lingmerth admitted he would love to fulfil his Ryder Cup dream.
“I have actually joined The European Tour as an affiliate Member this week, so now I’m eligible to earn Race to Dubai points and Ryder Cup points,” confirmed the Swede.
“So I’m hoping to get to play some more on the European Tour this year coming up and make myself eligible for the Ryder Cup. If I play good enough I’ll hopefully make the team; if not at least I gave it a good try.
“Growing up, the Ryder Cup was definitely one of the highlights of the year that you would tune into. It’s a dream for a lot of us to play in that and win Ryder Cup so I’m really looking forward to playing some more on the European Tour and giving it a good shot.”
Lingmerth’s Ryder Cup mission will begin on Thursday morning, when he tees off in the company of two of Australia’s very best, recent Australian Masters champion (at the tender age of 56!) Peter Senior and European Tour star Brett Rumford.
The Swede, who is visiting Australia for the first time this week, is looking to follow in the footsteps of the modern European player by playing a more global schedule.
“Becoming a global player I think is pretty much anyone’s dream,” he continued. “It’s great to do well on the PGA Tour and be right there but I think it shows enormous strength if you can be a great player all over the world like a bunch of these guys.
“Justin Rose, Rory and a bunch of those guys have been successful around the world. Those are guys we look up to and if I could become a good player on the European Tour as well as the PGA Tour, that’s one of the goals for sure.”
The Australian PGA Championship will be co-sanctioned for the first time on The European Tour, and will see no fewer than 20 different nationalities represented in the field, with European Tour winners such as Scott Jamieson, Edoardo Molinari and Peter Uihlein lining up alongside US Ryder Cup star Brandt Snedeker and a host of Australians who have tasted success on The European Tour including Rumford, Senior, Stephen Allan, Robert Allenby, Peter O’Malley, Craig Parry, Marcus Fraser and Richard Green.
