Sugrue turns professional with top international agency Sportyard
Amateur James Sugrue of Ireland plays his stroke from the No. 11 tee during Round 1 of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, November 12, 2020.
Mallow’s James Sugrue has turned professional and signed with Swedish based management group Sportyard, run by Henrik Stenson’s former manager Johan Elliot.
“I thought there was no time like the present,” said Sugrue (22), who won the Amateur Championship in 2019 and hopes to secure starts on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour over the coming months.
“I have played in all the big amateur events and I just felt it was time to take that further step. Playing with the pros, I have seen that putting is the only aspect of the game they all seem to do better than me so I have done a lot of work on my putting with my coach Michael Collins in recent months and I can’t wait to get out and play a tournament.
“I have set no specific goals this year, just get out and play some tournaments and let the golf do the talking. It’s not a great year but Covid-19 has affected everyone on the planet, not just me.”
Sugrue, who also won the South of Ireland title in 2017, played alongside Darren Clarke in The Open in 2019, missing the cut by just one stroke before going on to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool.
He has since played in another four professional events, finishing 66th in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm Castle last year as well as competing in the Oman Open, the US Open at Winged Foot and the Masters Tournament, where he shot a one-under 71 in the second round to become the first amateur from Great Britain and Ireland to shoot a sub-par round at Augusta National.
Elliott started Sportyard in 2000 with Sophie Gustafson and Henrik Stenson as his first clients.
Past clients include Richard S Johnson, Johan Edfors, Carl Pettersson and Martin Kaymer while Sugrue joins a stable that includes former Irish Open champion Mikko Ilonen, Rikard Karlberg, Oscar Floren, Alvaro Quiros, JC Ritchie, Kalle Samooja, Jin Jeong. Philip Eriksson, Pontus Widegren, Jens Fahrbring, Christofer Blomstrand, Jenny Rissveds, Tapio Pulkkanen and European Ryder Cup vice-captain Robert Karlsson.
One of Sportyard’s original clients, Karlsson returned to the Sportyard stable in 2017.
