Challenge Tour win is a first step to a bigger prize for Connor Syme

Connor Syme in action during the second round of the Betfred British Masters at Hillside Golf Club in Southport. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images).

The 23-year-old, from Drumoig, won the opening tournament of the Challenge Tour season when he lifted the Turkish Airlines Challenge trophy.

Not only did it give him a first taste of success in the professional ranks, it obviously led to him surging to the top of the tour’s points rankings after week one.

And remaining near to the top of that leaderboard throughout the season is Connor’s primary objective as he bids to win back his European Tour card.

Speaking following last weekend’s T42 finish at the Betfred British Masters, Connor said: “It was a great start to the Challenge Tour season and has given me a platform to build on.

“When I got there, the tournament just had a good feel about it and the scoring ended up being unbelievable.

“But I think I’m going to need about 100,000 points by the end of the season, so I’m still quite a bit away from that.

“I’m not going to be blind-sided by the win.”

The win in Turkey, followed up by a steady performance in Spain the week later, sees Connor sitting on 33,620 points and in second place on the Challenge Tour table.

The top 15 in the final rankings will obtain full playing rights to the 2020 European Tour international schedule.

After the high of the victory in Turkey, Connor admitted things hadn’t gone as well as he’d have hoped a few days later in Spain.

“I played the week after and felt a bit deflated after the win,” he said.

“The travel to the next event was hard, I hadn’t really slept much through the night, and there was definitely a bit of fatigue there.

“But I’ve got a week off now and I’m looking forward to it before getting back out again.”

Connor was back on home soil last weekend for the British Masters, a European Tour event held in Southport.

It was a top class European field boasting the likes of Ryder Cup stars Martin Kaymer, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton.

Connor played decent stuff across the four days and believes he could have done a bit better than his eventual placing.

He added: “I was pretty solid and it’s another cut made.

“It was a no lose situation for me because I’m on the Challenge Tour and that allowed me to play pretty freely.

“But if I had played my best stuff then there was a chance for me to push a bit further up the board.

“Bob MacIntyre (fellow Scot) did, and it was amazing to see.

“It was still a great event and I’m feeling really positive.”

Connor’s next event is the D+D Real Czech Challenge.