Less than three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian golfer Haydn Barron was a greenkeeper with an uncertain future.
Now he has his European tour card and is dreaming big things.
The 27-year-old West Australian said he had recalibrated his goals after winning a spot on next year's DP World Tour at the recent qualifying school in Spain.
Barron will play the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club this week on a high after a life-changing 12 months.
He finished 12th on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit last season, which included holing out from a bunker for an eagle at the 72nd hole in the Australian Open to tie for fourth and qualify for the British Open at Royal Liverpool.
He then got the job done at Tarragona in Spain earlier this month to win one of 33 precious DP Tour cards.
Ask him whether he lost sight of becoming a pro golfer during the COVID year and he is up front.
"To be honest I did. Out of school all I did was play golf and practice. That was always the direction I was going," he said.
"Then I got kicked out of the pro shop at Western Australian Golf Club when COVID came through because they couldn't keep anyone on.
"I spent a couple of months at home and then started greenkeeping.
"I was just working casually but wasn't doing any golf for close to six months.
"Then the world started to open up again it was hard to go back into it…but definitely happy that I did."
His Australian Open performance last year was a crucial moment in his career.
"That was I guess the turning point for me in realising that I could compete.
"You always want to believe that you can compete but seeing it and doing it are two different things," he said.
"The last 12 months since then have been crazy and wilder than I expected to dream. It is time to reset the goals and try and dream some more things now."
Those dreams were given more clarity by events in Spain where his 20-under score through six rounds in the final stage of qualifying secured him his European card.
"It was a crazy couple of weeks. I was continually thinking about the carrot at the end and arguing with yourself to not think about it when you can't help but think about it," Barron said.
"I held it together pretty well, but I Facetimed my girlfriend as soon as I finished and broke down crying.
"It was a pretty crazy feeling but something I am going to try and hang onto for as long as possible."
Barron is "super excited" to play in the Australian PGA on what he said was a "very tricky" course.
