In the next instalment of our ‘Meet the Rookies’ series profiling the newcomers to The European Tour in 2012, we meet Englishman Jamie Moul…
Jamie Moul is living proof of the theory that good things come to those who wait.
In February 2007, the Englishman succeeded a certain Rory McIlroy as the World Amateur Golf Ranking Number One, and would go on to spend a total of 18 weeks ranked as the best amateur golfer on the planet.
Having competed alongside the likes of McIlroy, Welshman Rhys Davies and the English trio of David Horsey, John Parry and Danny Willett in Great Britain & Ireland’s formidable 2007 Walker Cup team, Moul joined the professional ranks with the golfing world seemingly at his feet.
“Even though we lost by a point, playing the Walker Cup at Royal County Down was an unbelievable experience,” he recalled. “There were thousands of people there, and they were so close it felt like they were right on top of you. It was the perfect end to my amateur career, and a great introduction to what life would be like as a professional.”
But whilst McIlroy almost immediately announced his prodigious talent with a third place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which he followed up with a tied fourth finish at the Open de Madrid a week later to secure his European Tour card in one fell swoop, Moul initially struggled to transfer his dazzling amateur form into the professional arena.
Over the next two seasons he would miss more cuts than he made on the Challenge Tour, leading to a period of soul-searching and introspection which did little to improve his mood or an increasingly fragile self-confidence – as the man himself admitted.
He said: “I put a lot of pressure on myself after turning pro, and for whatever reason it didn’t happen for me. Whereas everything had come quite easily to me in my amateur career, I really struggled for consistency for the first few years of my pro career. There was obviously a bit of a step-up in terms of the strength in depth on the Challenge Tour, but the truth was I didn’t play nearly well enough to contend. So it took me a while to find my feet and get into a rhythm, because it felt like I was taking one step forward and two steps back all the time.”
But a corner was turned in spectacular fashion last year when, in a devastating summer spell, Moul captured his debut professional title at the Acaya Open.
He then finished runner-up at the Credit Suisse Challenge the following week before recording his third successive top five finish at the English Challenge – held at Stoke by Nayland, his home club since the age of 11 – to all but secure his place amongst the golfing elite.
He said: “Last year was much more like it. I did a lot of work over the winter to improve and tighten up my all-round game, and even though I got off to a fairly slow start in terms of my results, I felt like I was playing well. Then I had that purple patch in the middle of the year, and the rest is history.
“Obviously getting my first win under my belt did wonders for my confidence, and it was probably long overdue. As much as it pleased me to see them doing well, it’s also been a little bit frustrating seeing my Walker Cup team-mates go out and win on the main Tour. So it was nice to join in the fun, and it’ll be great to catch up with them this year. Hopefully I can make a few headlines of my own.”
Having recently recharged his batteries on a three-week trip to New Zealand with his girlfriend, Moul’s maiden European Tour campaign gets underway at the Africa Open at East London Golf Club, where an emphasis on strategy and straight-hitting should play to his strengths.
Having plotted a career path which could be filed under “slow-burner” – at least in comparison to McIlroy’s explosive entrance onto the world stage – the Essex boy will now be keen to make up for lost time.
He said: “It’s been a long time coming, and I can’t wait for the season to start. I might not get into that many events at the start of the season – especially in the ‘Gulf Swing’ – so I’ll need to hit the ground running. Hopefully a lot of the courses on the main Tour will suit me, because the rough tends to be a bit thicker, which puts more emphasis on accuracy than length.
“The goal is to put myself in contention as often as possible, and if I can do that hopefully I can get another win. Everybody’s goal is to keep their card on their first year on Tour, and the quickest way to do that is to win a tournament!”
Like most of his fellow pros, Moul’s reading material is made up almost exclusively of golfing tomes by the likes of Bob Rotella. But if he makes good on his wish to belatedly join Davies, Horsey, Parry and McIlroy in the winners’ enclosure on The European Tour, Aesop’s Fable about ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ would be an appropriate addition to his coffee table.
