Richard

McEvoy

When the veteran English journeyman completed a longed-for victory in the 2018 European Open his immediate response was solid: two top 40s and then a pair of top 20s. Whereupon he ground to a halt. The 2019 season was not much fun at all, a series of missed cuts and a best of T31 in the Oman Open. When he opened the 2020 campaign with five straight missed cuts he must have been feeling a little desperate, but there has been hope in his last two starts. T21 at the Saudi International was a first top 25 in 35 starts and then last week in the Oman Open he was T5 at halfway before finishing T30. It’s nothing too astonishing, but maybe a sign of better results to come.

Right now, that’s three back from joint-leaders Stephen Gallacher and Rasmus Hojgaard. The Englishman, who won in back-to-back weeks on the Challenge Tour and European Tour in the summer of 2018 hasn’t had a top ten since but ended a run of five missed cuts with a promising T21 at the Saudi International on his last start. He’s also 2-for-2 in this event and today beat his previous lowest lap of 70 (set yesterday). McEvoy birdied 3 and 9 on his outward half and then got hot with a run of three red numbers at 12, 13 and 14. He looked all set to hand in a clean card before taking five swings on the par-5 closer. Still, that’s two good days’ work and if he can draw on the magic of July 2018, the 40-year-old could be one to watch.

This is going to be an important season for the Englishman who belied his journeyman status with a glorious spell of action in mid 2018. He defeated an invited field of world class stars in a private event, used the confidence boost to win on the Challenge Tour and then downed Bryson DeChambeau in the European Open. But his exemption ends at the close of 2020 and last season he slumped to 186th in the rankings. In fact, other than when he won, he has never finished in the top 100 in 11 full seasons on the ET. It’s no surprise that he is wasting no playing opportunities and is getting cracking before Christmas. He is 5-for-8 at Leopard Creek, with a best of T15 in 2012 and he was also T37 on his last visit although that was three years ago.

Last year, at the tenth time of asking, the Englishman finished in the top 100 after a full European Tour campaign, the fruit of his stunning win in the European Open when he went head-to-head with Bryson DeChambeau. What happened next was odd. The American seemed driven to wipe out the memory, cataloguing a series of wins. McEvoy, on the other hand, clipped two quick top 20s, but this season he has not revisited the top 30. The good news is that his exemption runs through to the end of next season. The bad news is that he’s stuck in a rut of seven missed weekends. Furthermore, in seven trips to this week’s course he has missed five cuts and never finished better than the T48 he managed on debut in 2004.

The Englishman couldn’t repeat the glory of last year, adding a level-par 38-34=72 to his first round 77 to total 5-over 149, two shots too many to play the weekend. In all his four birdies for the 36 holes failed to atone for the five bogeys and two double bogeys. Other notables that will join him in getting the weekend off include: 148- Matt Kuchar, Thomas Bjorn, Alexander Levy … 149- Lucas Bjerregaard, Dean Burmester … 150- Renato Paratore … 151- Adrian Otaegui … 157- Matteo Manassero.

McEvoy completed a dream fortnight 12 months ago when following up a victory on the Challenge Tour with a first European Tour success here after seeing off American raider Bryson DeChambeau. The 40-year-old Englishman is down at 180th on this season’s Race to Dubai after a tough season which continued with a fourth missed cut in five starts when making an early exit at Crans last week. He said: “This year hasn’t been the year that I had hoped for so far. I’ve had slight injury problems and stuff which haven’t helped but it’s nice to come back somewhere and get some good feelings and good vibes to try and help turn my year around.” Apart from the pressures of defending, the course may not suit as much this time. Twelve months ago, his short hitting was helped by a fast-running track but it doesn’t look as if he’ll get those conditions this time. That said, he managed T28 when it played longer in 2017.

A fond return to Germany for the Englishman who last time he was in the country pulled off one of the great coups of 2018, going head to head with Bryson DeChambeau in the final round of the European Open and emerging victorious. He started on the tenth and made two bogeys (at the 11th and 14th), but was undeterred, making up for these errors with par breakers at the 13th, 16th and 18th. He didn’t know it until early Friday morning (there was a three hour weather delay on Thursday afternoon) but by round’s end he had eased into a tie for sixth (with 15 others) by making birdies at the seventh and ninth, three shots behind the lead of Andrea Pavan.

The Englishman has struggled with his form in the aftermath of his breakthrough win last July. In what was a dizzying month he claimed victory on both the Challenge and European Tours, the latter (in the European Open) seeing him go head-to-head with Bryson DeChambeau and emerge with credit. The 2019 season has started in terrible style however. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, then did so again in the Vic Open. Not once in those three starts did he break 71. But he’s done that twice this week and although this second round was steadier it offers hope for the weekend and beyond. Both nines featured two birdies and one bogey. He dropped a shot at 4, got two back at 6 and 9. The return home was bookended with red numbers (10 and 18) with a blue plumb in the middle at 14.

This matches the Englishman’s low lap at Lake Karrinyup, that coming in the second round in 2016 when the course staged the Perth International. T22nd that year, he was also T36 the only other time he played that tournament in 2013 so it’s a course he’s done well on. It hasn’t quite been the case in this event after T47 and MC the last two years and he arrived in Perth with a blank 0-for-3 slate this season. However, it clicked today as he outpaced two bogeys (they came back-to-back at 16 and 17 after he’d started at 10th tee) with seven birdies. His set included red numbers at all four par 5s. McEvoy made headlines last season when winning his first European Tour event (at the 285th attempt) a week on from a victory on the Challenge Tour.

Last July was spectacular for the Englishman as he defeated an elite field (including Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm) in a private event, then used the boost to his confidence to claim a Challenge Tour win followed by the downing of Bryson DeChambeau in the European Open. However their respective paths (not unexpectedly) have since gone in different direction. The American can’t stop winning, McEvoy is yet to find another top ten. It’s also now eight starts since he found a top 25 and he’ll want to address that soon. He does have a T8 in the Dunhill Links so this challenge shouldn’t faze him, but he’s seeking a first Australian top 20 in his ninth start there.