Focusing on Fanling

The general theory used to be that golfers didn’t really reach their prime until their early to mid-30s. Now the top-three golfers in the world have an average age of 25. Is this a trend or just an exceptional situation?

I’m still hoping that the former is true, obviously, being 35! I’ve played the best golf in my life since turning 30. I’ve really elevated my game, matured and have had a successful career in the last five years. For me I am still hoping that my best golf is ahead of me but at the same time you look at the future and the trend is that everyone is getting younger. Sports science is so much more advanced and I think that coaching is becoming more advanced and all the knowledge is being passed down. The youngsters tend to be coming out much more prepared to win then they used to be in the past. In the past they had to learn their trade and had to maybe sacrifice a few losses to gain that experience. They seem to be much more ready now at an earlier age.

And following on from that, you enjoyed a highly successful amateur career before turning pro ... Do you think making the transition from amateur to pro is perhaps easier these days?

I think the circumstances in which I turned pro were unusual as I turned pro around a lot of hype and I don’t think I was quite ready for that hype. I was certainly a good amateur player. With the fourth place finish I had in Royal Birkdale in 1998 [at The Open], although people believe I turned pro because I finished fourth, the decision was made beforehand, regardless of what happened. Finishing fourth meant my expectations changed and certainly the golfing world’s expectations changed for what my future held. So, it took me a little time to get over exactly what happened at the 1998 Open. It took me two to three years to develop my skills and improve my game where I could be a consistent and relevant tour player.