Barron and Endycott featuring in Qatar Masters
Haydn Barron – file photo Australian Golf Media
West Australian Haydn Barron is playing his rookie season on the DP World Tour after gaining his playing rights at Q School late last year and after a relatively slow start to his season, he has the lead at the halfway mark of the Qatar Masters at the Doha Golf Club.
The 28 year old who has recorded two runner-up finishes in lesser events on the PGA Tour of Australasia, did record a 4th place finish behind Adrian Meronk at the 2022 Australian Open and earned a start at the Open Championship last year as a result.
This week however he has the opportunity to produce something even more significant after rounds of 68 and 67 have him one ahead of fellow Australian Harrison Endycott who, despite owning playing rights on the PGA Tour, is taking advantage of invites to events on the DP World Tour to consolidate and broaden his career.
Sharing second place with Endycott is Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino who finished runner-up in both the Australian Open and PGA Championships late last year.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier is another two shots back in a share of 6th place.
“It’s a beast of a golf course,” Barron told DP World Tour. “You’ve really got to strike it well, got to be in the fairway and sometimes just got to hit it into the middle of the greens and take your 60-70 footers if you are out of position.
“So it’s definitely a course which requires a bit of wit and some smarts, and luckily (caddie) Matty (Miller) has been good on the bag and we left ourselves some good numbers.”
Endycott, who regained his playing rights for the PGA Tour by leading the Tour School last December is taking advantage of the opportunity to play events on the European schedule. A new category allowing players finishing between 126th and 200 on last year’s FedEx Cup table provides a category in Europe for such players.
“It’s great to be able to play over here on the DP World Tour,” said the Sydney golfer. “I haven’t had a load of chances to play over here on this tour, but every time I have, I’ve really enjoyed it. I’d like to play a bit of both on my schedule this year. The way golf is, the States does get to some players, especially me, a bit repetitive, and to mix it up with another schedule, this is a global game and to be able to play around the world, it’s all I dreamed of as a kid.
“Now I’m in that position where I get to play all around the world, see amazing places and play in all new cultures. I’m really excited for this year, I’m going to see all new places that I haven’t seen before and go back to some places that I have seen. That’s what’s really exciting about 2024.”
