Philip Walton has lost about £40,000 on tournament golf in each of the last three years. In the knowledge that such losses couldn't be sustained indefinitely, he has set himself what amounts to a breakthrough-or-bust deadline for the coming season.
Late last month, Walton had his third unsuccessful tilt at the European Tour School, where hopes of regaining exempt status were crushed by a dismal fifth round of 78. And he won't be going back to what he describes as the most expensive green-fee in golf.
"It costs £1,200 sterling to enter the Tour School, which amounts to a green-fee of £300 a round for those who fail to get past the 72-hole cut," he said yesterday. "That's not a very attractive prospect, especially when you're struggling."
For Walton, there could hardly be a starker contrast with events of 1995, in the immediate aftermath of the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill. Flushed with the success of a crucial, singles win over Jay Haas, which delivered the decisive point to a triumphant European side, there was talk of a biography, not to mention the prospect of lucrative contracts down the road.
He ended the 1995 season at 13th in the Order of Merit with official earnings of £234,106. A year later he had slipped to 92nd; then 64th in 1997, followed by 64th again in 1998.
Finally, after three missed cuts in his last five tournaments of 1999, he slipped to 160th in the Order of Merit and was faced with the grim reality of a dreaded visit to the Tour School.
"Every player experiences a slump at some stage of his career and it happened to me in 1997," he said. "I wasn't worried at the start, believing I'd snap out of it. But it kept getting worse, which wasn't helped by the fact that I stopped enjoying practising or playing.
"So, instead of fighting my way out of the slump, I went deeper into it. And all the while, my confidence was taking a terrible pasting."
The upshot was a return to the Tour School in 2000 and again this year. There were strong indications that things would be different this time around when he produced a sparkling, fourth round of 65 to make the 72-hole cut. But his absence from regular competition at premier level had taken its toll and, despite a closing 71, he ended the event in a share of 63rd place.
"I know you'd expect me to say that things are different now, but it happens to be true," he added. "After the Irish Championship at Castlerock in October, I worked really hard on my short game and I believe I'm now playing my best golf since 1995.
"I know that the talent which made me a Ryder Cup player hasn't just disappeared, never to return. It's been there all the time: all I've needed has been the confidence to hit the sort of shots that were once second-nature. And I feel I'm getting there."
By way of emphasis, he shot a 65 at Royal Dublin last weekend and has had some recent successes on the home circuit, including the 36-hole Connemara Pro-Am at the end of September.
"Making six rounds at San Roque means I will get into 12 or maybe 14 European Tour events next season," he said. "For the rest of the time, I'm prepared to play the Challenge Tour. In fact I'll go anywhere to play competitive golf. That's going to be my route back.
"There will be no more visits to the Tour School. If I can't get a card from the Challenge Tour, I don't deserve one."
In 17 seasons on the European Tour, from 1983 until the end of 1999, Walton earned official career money of £1.5 million. He won three tournaments - the French Open of 1990 and the Catalan and English Opens of 1995 - and played in all of the major championships with the exception of the US Masters.
He now seeks a return to prominence, in the belief that, facing his 40th birthday next March, he could have six good years of tournament play before easing into the golfing sunset. Those many admirers who remember the early 1980s, when he was ranked the number one amateur in Europe, will wish him well.
