Cutler looking to get off to a flying start

FRESH FROM his Walker Cup heroics, Paul Cutler is set to make a flying start to his new life as a professional after securing sponsor’s invitations into next week’s Austrian Open and the following week’s Dunhill Links championship.

“It’s great to get such good opportunities to play straight away, I couldn’t ask for a better start,” said the 22 year-old from Portstewart, who has signed with Dublin-based sports management agency Horizon.

Indeed, Graeme McDowell, last year’s US Open champion, wrote a letter to the Dunhill Links organisers seeking an invitation for his new management stablemate.

Cutler, who finished his amateur career on a high with an unbeaten contribution in the Walker Cup on top of his Irish Close success this season, is aiming to emulate Rory McIlroy by winning his full tour card without the need to visit the European Tour qualifying school later in the year.

McIlroy managed to win his full tour card by finishing third in the Dunhill just weeks after playing in the 2007 Walker Cup.

With experienced caddie Phil “Wobbly” Morbey – who was bagman for Ian Woosnam in his US Masters win in 1991 – lined up to take the bag, Cutler is laying down a marker straight away in his efforts to impact on tour.

Of his decision to stay on as an amateur to take in the Walker Cup before jumping into life on tour, Cutler remarked: “If you look at the players I’ve looked up to and had advice from, they’ve played in the Walker Cup. Like Graeme McDowell, for example. The Walker Cup was important to me. Hopefully I can take inspiration from playing in it and go on and do some of the stuff Graeme has done.

“Luke Donald and Pádraig Harrington also played in it, and it’s as important to me as it was to those guys too.”

It is estimated Cutler would need to earn approximately €215,000 from his tournament invitations to avoid tour school, as he is scheduled to play in Stage One in early October.

However, beyond Austria and the Dunhill, his manager Conor Ridge is also chasing invitations to the Portugal Masters, the Andalucia Masters and the Singapore Open. “It will be an amazing schedule for Paul if it comes off the way we hope it will,” said Ridge.

Cutler, who has got a number of sponsors and initial backing from Team Ireland golf trust to enable him to play for the coming months without financial concerns, said: “All I have to do now is concentrate on playing golf. Hopefully that’s good enough.”