James Sugrue admitted that he was “really proud” of himself after putting back-to-back, bogey-free five-under-par rounds of 65 to close out the Clutch Pro Tour Championship at Al Ain Golf and Equestrian Club in the UAE – a result that saw him promoted to the HotelPlanner Tour for 2026.
“I’m over the moon,” said the Mallow man, shortly after receiving confirmation that he’d held onto third place in the Clutch Pro Tour Order of Merit, capturing the third and final promotion place.
“I knew that this was pretty much my career on the line because I’m not getting any younger and I want to be playing on the HotelPlanner Tour or on the main DP World Tour. I probably put a lot of pressure on myself the last couple of weeks, telling myself that you have to do the business here, so yeah, I’m absolutely delighted.”
After a runner-up finish and three other top-five placings, Sugrue catapulted himself into the top three in the rankings with a runner-up finish in last week’s Al Zorah Championship, which offered elevated points, and with twice the normal points on offer at the Tour Championship, he knew that he’d have to produce another high-class performance.
But he started slowly, covering his first 16 holes in two-over before clawing his way back to level-par with two late birdies. To make matters worse, he was playing alongside Jordan Wrisdale, the man directly below him in the rankings, who was on his way to a seven-under 63 and the first-round lead.
“Yeah, he was annoying me, to say the least,” Sugrue joked. “But no, it wasn’t looking good to be honest. I didn’t play well at all that day and level-par was about the best I could’ve shot.”
In some ways, that freed him up as the equation was now simple. Go low, or suffer disappointment. And that’s exactly what he did. Back-to-back rounds of 65 vaulted him up the leaderboard and, in the end, he finished tied for sixth (effectively tied for third as three of the leading five were non-Clutch members).
James Sugrue in action in the final round at Al Ain (Photo: Andy Crook)
“I said to the lads, ‘it’s now all duck or no dinner’,” he explained. “So I’m very proud of the way I played those last 36 holes. I didn’t make a bogey, so that kind of speaks for itself. I had a seven-footer for par on 18 today, and that was the only time that I was even close to making a bogey.
“Starting today, I set a target to shoot six-under, because I thought five-under would be tight, but I didn’t miss a shot all day and in the end, five was enough and I’ll never complain about a bogey-free 65 on a 7,200-yard par-70.”
Having turned pro in 2021 – two years after winning the Amateur Championship at Portmarnock and playing both the Masters and U.S. Open without his family in attendance due to covid restrictions – it’s the least he deserves after suffering injury and disruption in his professional career.
“I got injured, and then just after returning, I broke my ankle so I was out for another 18 months, and this is the first time I’ve played a full season in three years,” he explained. “So I’m just delighted to be back playing at the sort of level that I know I can play at. There’s no room for a bad stretch or missing a few cuts when you’re playing on this tour with only three cards to aim for, and I played consistently well all year. I think I deserve this card.”
Sugrue credits his longtime swing coach, Michael Collins, for keeping him on the right track, but the biggest improvement has come in his putting since starting to work with Gordon Smyth at the Raflewski Academy at PGA National Slieve Russell.
“I’ve worked with Michael since I was nine. I’ve never had a swing lesson from anybody else,” he said. “He’s been a mentor to me throughout my whole life and he knows my game better than anyone. He’s caddied for me many times in big events, he knows what I’m capable of doing. But I’ve always been a streaky putter, and since starting to work with Gordon, I’ve become a lot more consistent.”
And it is a double Irish celebration at Al Ain, as Mark Power stormed to victory with a closing seven-under 63 to reach -17. In catching and overtaking Tom Sloman – one of the danger men to Sugrue’s top-three ranking – it was a case of one Irishman helping another.
“Mark played unbelievable today,” Sugrue said. “Like, to shoot 17-under on this golf course, it’s some going. I’m delighted for him. He’s flushed it all week and he deserves to get his first win here as well.”
There is no time for big celebrations in the Middle East, however, as Sugrue was on his way to the airport for a flight home while Power now turns his attention to DP World Tour Q-School Second Stage which begins a week from today.
“It is the jazz weekend in Cork, so I might have to show my face there,” Sugrue signed off.
And he’ll be well within his rights to paint the town red.
