After months of waiting, the moment James Nicholas worked so hard to achieve has finally come around.
The American tees it up for the first time on the DP World Tour at this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after progressing through all three stages of Qualifying School last year.
From the First Stage in France in October to the drama of finishing birdie-birdie to secure his DP World Tour card at the six-round Final Stage in Spain one month later, Nicholas forged a path that has the potential to ignite his professional career.
“I think nerves are always good, happy nerves, but I’m excited to get the season started,” said Nicholas, who due to his membership category has missed out on the fields for the past few events in the Middle East.
While globetrotting in pursuit of realising your dreams isn’t an overly unfamiliar story for those in the world of sport, what is compelling is Nicholas’ journey.
Born in New York, Nicholas appeared set to follow in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather into medicine having earned a Biology degree from Yale University. While golf was a passion, football was his initial focus before he prioritised golf.
Since turning professional in 2019, Nicholas has played on the Korn Ferry Tour and made a handful of starts on the PGA TOUR but playing at Doha Golf Club represents a big personal milestone having previously never held full status on any Tour.
But it isn’t just on the course that he has made a name for himself. He boasts 110,000 followers on Instagram and regularly shares progress updates and tips to amateurs, while he also has big followings on TikTok and YouTube.
For a player who was only last year playing Minor League Golf, Nicholas is taking everything in ahead of taking part in an event which has been won by a host of Major champions.
“Walking into the locker room for the first time, looking at the past champions of this event, almost every single one of them are great players who have done incredible things over their careers,” added Nicholas, who also reached the Final Stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School at the end of last year.
“I guess this tournament proves to be a true test of golf. That’s not adding any pressure to my game, it’s just saying look, these great champions have won this tournament, I’m just going to try and play my best and see what happens.”
Based in Florida, Nicholas might not have lots of on-site support this week in the Middle East but is expecting plenty of encouragement as the event unfolds.
“I think the shot tracking abilities on the DP World Tour are a little better than the tours I’ve played the last couple of years so I’m sure my family will be up early watching, for sure,” he said.
