England's Andy Sullivan takes low-key approach

As Andy Sullivan racked up European Tour titles in 2015 and moved up in the world rankings and closer to a trip to Augusta, he decided he didn’t want to discuss it. At least not to the media.

“In mid-season it was on my mind, so toward the end of the year I literally said I don’t want to talk about it any more and go out there and play golf,” Sullivan said. “The more I’ve done that, the better I’ve played. So for me it was all about forgetting how close I was and just going out there and playing golf.”

It worked for Sullivan, a 28-year-old Englishman who finished 2015 ranked 36th in the world to earn his Masters Tournament invitation for top 50 ranked golfers.

He’s taking the same approach with the Ryder Cup, which is played in late September. Sullivan, seeking to play in his first Ryder Cup, was second in points on the European team in late February.

He admitted this would be a dream year if he played in both.

“After last year and playing so well and winning a few times, it’s time for me to try to kick on,” Sullivan said. “It’s great you get all the accolades of getting in the majors and getting linked to the Ryder Cup is great, but at the end of the day for me as much as it’s a fantastic stretch, I’ve got to take it (the Masters) as just another golf tournament and try not to get too overwhelmed by it.

“I know the first time down Magnolia Lane is going to be absolutely awesome,” he said. “I want to go there and perform and try to win the tournament. I know it’s going to be tough, the first time asking, but I think I’ve got the game that can play well around there.”

Sullivan’s first European Tour title came in dramatic fashion. Trailing 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel by seven shots going into the final round of the South African Open in January 2015, Sullivan shot 67 and beat Schwartzel in a sudden-death playoff.

He followed that with a victory in the Joburg Open in March and won the Portugal Masters in October by nine shots. He also pushed Rory McIlroy to the last hole in the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai in November, losing by a shot.

Sullivan attributed his improved play to “working really hard with my coach the last couple of years. I’m beginning to see the benefits of that. And confidence. When you win a few times, you’ve got the confidence behind you to go anywhere and play well and that’s what I’m beginning to do now. I’m becoming more consistent and putting my name up there on the leaderboard more often.”

Asked if there was a certain hole he’s looking forward to playing at Augusta National, Sullivan joked that he was “just dreading the whole thing. I’ve never been there, so I don’t know what to expect. Everyone tells you how difficult it is to get the club around on No. 12. I literally can’t wait to get there and just take it from there. I just can’t wait to play the old course. It’s going to be a boyhood dream of mine to do it.”

Sullivan also gives credit to European Tour stalwart Lee Westwood with helping him.

“He’s local to where I am,” Sullivan said. “He’s been pretty influential to me, especially in my amateur career and when I just turned professional. He said a lot of nice things about me and I played a lot of golf with him. It really made me kick on and get out here as a professional.”

As for the Ryder Cup, Sullivan has already impressed Darren Clarke, the European captain.

“He is a quality ball striker,” said Clarke, who was also the captain for the EurAsia Cup in January, which Europe won as Sullivan went unbeaten. “There are lots of brilliant, young kids out here but not many of them move the ball both ways and with different trajectory. He does it all. A lot of kids don’t see that, they hit it as hard as they can and as far as they can and go from there. Sully is hitting a draw off one tee then a cut the next. I love playing with people like that, combined with the fact he is a really good kid.”