Ben Campbell’s difficult 2022 Luke Toomey enjoying life

Luke Toomey was happy to talk to Golfer Pacific about his golf in 2022 and look ahead to 2023 at The Hills Pro-Amin December.

“The highlight in general was getting back on a plane and travelling and competing internationally again,’’ Toomey said.

“Obviously two and a half years of being stuck on the ground was difficult as there was a limit to what we could do locally.

“So it was good to be able to travel again to compete against the best players on the best courses and kind of reignite that dream again. That has been huge, in particular the last five weeks or so in Australia. The Aussie Open and the PGA, I was lucky enough to be the last man into the field for those two events. It was such a great environment and awesome to be playing with and alongside some of the world’s best golfers like Cam Smith, Adam Scott and Mark Leishman. So regardless of how you play, competing with those guys is great for your game going forward.

“I came away with a whole bunch of learnings. I guess very personally my 18th in the Australian Open was very nice. I was in the top 10 most of the week and I just loved being in the mix on the final day. It was brilliant and so much fun.”

Any other highlights?

“I finished top 10 in every Charles Tour event during the year. Didn’t win any though so I guess I will reflect on that and ask myself how I can do better, although I was in contention every time which is good. I also had a 14th in the Victorian PGA. I think it has been my most consistent year to date. Just need to reflect on how I can turn those top 10s into a win in 2023.”

So what is the programme for the Waikato golfer in 2023?

“I will play the full Australasian Tour schedule. Something like nine or 10 weeks in a row from late January right through to April. There are five events in Aussie then the New Zealand Open and NZPGA and finishing with another two or three in Aussie. I will play all but one. I’ll probably take a week off somewhere in the middle.”

After that is Asia in the frame?

“No. I would have liked to but didn’t have the capital. But I will probably look at something like Japan or Europe later in the year. The first stage of Japan Q school is about June. However I am putting all my pathway to the LIV Tour. If you play well in Asia you can get on LIV. If I qualified I would definitely play the LIV Tour. If you can be in the top three on the order of merit in the International Series you can get on the LIV Tour.”

What about the NZ Open?

“It is part of the Asian Tour so I will be back for that although I don’t know about the NZ PGA. It will depend on the Asian Tour schedule. That will take priority as it provides pathways. It is going to be a very big tour in the next few years so it is exciting up there” eggs in the Australasian Tour basket now and if I play well there may be some perks from that. A couple of top three finishes may open some doors.”

For Campbell, after his injury curtailed his last two or three years, it will be nice to see him have an injury free 2023 and fulfil his undoubted ability with a stellar year.

As for the possibility of Europe and following the path of Daniel Hillier, Toomey’s comments were forthright and insightful.

“It’s tricky. There is obviously a lot of friction between the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour and what is happening with some of the other tours such as the European and Challenge Tours is they are somewhat being absorbed by the PGA Tour. So you could end up spending a lot of money playing on what could quickly become a very second tier tour.

“Europe has been a primary leader previously but probably in the last two or three years has kind of succumbed to the PGA Tour. The prizemoney is a fraction of the PGA Tour. So if I am going to spend 20K to 30K on qualifying schools I need to be sure it is worth it. However Europe is still an option.

“Japan has always been appealing to me. I love the culture, the country, the people and the golf courses are spectacular. You play world class courses every week and the money’s good. I have spoken to David Smail and Michael Hendry and both of them have loved their time there. So that may well be my next focus.

“Things are very unpredictable at the moment giving what is going on between the PGA Tour and LIV. In saying that I feel like golf is being watched and observed by more spectators than ever so it is a good thing. I think the long term outlook for golf is brilliant but we just don’t know what that looks like yet.”

We concluded with Toomey’s real number one highlight. Wasn’t your real highlight getting married?

“Of course. Outside of the golf, 2022 has been exceptional, getting married to Kayla in March, then buying our first home in Tauranga which we move into in January. I feel very lucky.”

Toomey is clearly a mature, well grounded positive young man who enjoys his life as a golfer.

Golfer Pacific writer Neville Idour caught up with eight New Zealand professionals at The Hills Invitational Pro-Am in December. Neville asked them about how they performed in 2022 and what their thoughts were heading into 2023. There were some very interesting replies.