Johannesburg native Justin Walters returns to the Barclays Kenya Open this week looking to bounce back from a season that saw highs as well as lows for the inaugural European Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year in 2014.
The award, given to the best performing second tier graduate on The Race to Dubai the following campaign, was given to Walters last year off the back of an emotionally charged finish to the 2013 season.
Buoyed by that, he embarked on a sophomore campaign amongst European golf’s elite last year full of confidence, a belief that was no doubt swollen further as the result of a runner-up finish on home soil at the Joburg Open last February.
The following month, however, he tore a muscle in his left shoulder and his form clearly suffered. One year on from that, though, and Walters is ready to get down to business, which starts this week in Nairobi where he is staying with friends a short walk from Karen Country Club.
“The game feels pretty solid right now,” said the South African, who finished 15th in the Challenge Tour Rankings in 2012. “I’ve had a good start to the year and played all the events down in South Africa, as well as in Madeira and Morocco, and made the cut in all six with some decent finishes.
“I’ve just had some really average Sundays and dropped back quite a lot in the final rounds, so if I could have turned that round, I’d be in really good shape.
“I took all of last week off though and have not touched a club in a while, so I’m definitely fresh, but I might be a little bit rusty. I’m sure I’ll pick it up pretty quickly though once I hit some balls and find a little rhythm.
Walters teed it up for the first time in the European Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship in 2014
“I think because I have a limited status on The European Tour I am just trying a little too hard as I don’t get too many opportunities, and I won’t play a full schedule this season.
“It is no one’s fault but mine, and it will be a case of casting a line in both ponds and see which one I pull the biggest fish out of. I’ll play as much on The European Tour as I can, but I will certainly support the Challenge Tour and play the events that make sense scheduling wise before making a decision about which to focus on. It will all depend on which will give me the best opportunity to gain a full card and that’s the main goal, to get back what I have lost.”
Taking a step backwards in your career can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it is through that kind of adversity that Walters believes you learn the most about yourself. Not only has he garnered plenty about his game as a result, he has also had an epiphany about his life away from golf, thanks to the arrival of his first son Liam.
Too often playing golf professionally can suck the life out of a game you once loved, and Walters admits that the lessons he has learned both on the course and away from the game now stand him in great stead for a successful 2015.
“To try and balance everything last year was perhaps a little too much for me to do,” said Walters. “That made for a difficult year professionally, but those are the years you grow and learn about yourself.
The biggest lesson I learned after the birth of my son was that golf isn’t everything. Personally it is important and it provides for my family, but it is not the end of the world if I do not play well, and I think I still needed to learn that.
“At some point in our lives we have to realise it is just a game, and I think it had become more of a business to me, rather than playing the game I loved as a kid. Last year I learned that I need to try and take it easier on myself and enjoy it for what it is. It’s a wonderful game, but sometimes it is really hard on you.
“The end goal is getting on to The European Tour, and I will work my hardest to do that and get back out there. I learned a lot there, playing with the best and on wonderful courses in amazing locations, and that just makes you hungry for more.”
As for this week, Walters is excited to be back at a venue he enjoys, and keen to get his second-tier season off to a flyer as he looks to regain his status amongst the elite.
“I am definitely excited to be back playing at this event,” said the three-time Sunshine Tour winner. “Off the course is wonderful, while the course itself is different every year depending on the weather conditions leading up to the event.
“It is a very positional layout, and you have to think your way round it, and manage your game so as to give yourself as many birdie opportunities as possible. South African’s have a good history here too, so hopefully I can kick start my year and give myself more direction for the season.”
