Saadiyat Beach Golf Club ambassador, Gary Hurley in the mix after round one of the Irish Challenge

Gulf News

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club’s newest ambassador, Gary Hurley from Ireland, shot an opening round of 4 under par of the Irish Challenge being held at The K Club on the Challenge Tour. Event number 18 on the season’s Road to Mallorca.  Read more Golf in UAE stories here:   https://gulfnews.com/sport/golf-in-uae  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #golf  #sports

Transcript

00:00Gary, 468 to begin out at the K-Club. How pleased are you overall with your day's work?

00:05Yeah, I know I played some really nice golf today. All in all, it was pretty good. I had

00:11nice support out as well, following me, which was great. I haven't had that in a while.

00:15It was nice to play some of the golf I've been playing all year, to be honest. Obviously,

00:20it's a little bit of a bigger stage, so the noise was kind of different in my head, a

00:25little bit different, but the work I've been doing was the same. I was able to engage with

00:32it, so it was good.

00:33You have had a good year so far on the Alps Tour. What do you think has clicked this year

00:37for you?

00:39A few things. I've made huge changes in my behaviour, how I operate on the course, off

00:47the course, my engagement with shots and what I choose to reflect on and how I choose to

00:53play. That's been a huge part. My golf game started to come with it. When my golf game

00:59started to come good, all the work I did before, it just made it easier. It's good when it's

01:06good. It's challenging when it's not going well, but I really enjoyed the challenge today.

01:12It was great.

01:14What sort of things have you changed in your behaviour specifically, if you can go into

01:18that?

01:21I suppose you're just separating the shot outcome, like anything to do with where the

01:26ball is finishing or what you see, what you feel off the club face. Separating that from

01:31everything you choose to go after before the shot, all the things you can control. People

01:37will talk about process, and that's what I mean. You're reflecting on your process rather

01:41than reflecting on what's happening with the ball and what you can control. I've been making

01:47huge strides with that. I'm still not brilliant. I still have a long way to go. It's changed

01:55me completely on the course. I'm a different person on the golf course. I think I'm a little

01:59bit different off the course as well. I'm a little bit more chill, a little bit more

02:02relaxed, less anxiety-ridden, which is great. But all them nerves, they're still there.

02:09They don't go away. I just choose to accept them now for what they are. I choose my own

02:14narrative on the course, how I want to be, how I want to think, what I want to do. That's

02:19pretty much what I've changed.

02:21You mentioned the crowds. How nice is it to play in front of home fans?

02:23It's nice to play good in front of them as well, to be honest. They've had a tough few

02:28years at the Irish Challenge. I generally haven't played well at the tournaments. I've

02:33always been well-supported by people at home. It's nice to play well in front of them and

02:37give them something to cheer about. It's great.

02:41You're home from home, Sadiat Beach. How is it to have that base there to be able to

02:45go and practice?

02:46It's great. My girlfriend is over there. She's working over there now. I went over there

02:49for the winter. I just got set up in Sadiat. I was playing and practising there. It was

02:54the closest course to where she is based. I just got to know a few guys there. It just

03:00came about. Now I'm attached to them, which is great. It's amazing facilities over there,

03:07to be honest. The weather is the same every day. It was a huge part of my winter work

03:13over there, for sure.

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