Bradley Neil on being 'humbled by demons' since dream Masters appearance

Bradley Neil isn’t your typical shy Scot. Just ask Rory McIlroy, who was befriended by Neil, just 18 at the time, at Augusta National in the build up to The Masters in 2015. Over the course of a few days, they had lunch together, played a practice round and were even in the same group for the Par 3 Contest.
Rory McIlroy and Bradley Neil spent a lot of time together in the build up to the event at Augusta National eight years ago. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.Rory McIlroy and Bradley Neil spent a lot of time together in the build up to the event at Augusta National eight years ago. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.
Rory McIlroy and Bradley Neil spent a lot of time together in the build up to the event at Augusta National eight years ago. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

All those memorable moments were made possible by Neil earning a spot in the season’s opening major that year as the R&A Amateur champion, having landed that coveted title the previous June at Royal Portrush, where the Blairgowrie player beat South African Zander Lombard in the final.

Eight years on, Neil’s career may have taken a bit of a nosedive, but there’s still a distinct tone of excitement in his voice when he recalls the week he certainly made the most of in terms of soaking up the experience at Augusta National and rightly so.

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“The fact it allowed Gordon Bannerman to be there, that’s one of my most enjoyable memories,” he said, laughing, of his appearance securing a one-off visit for the Perthshire Advertiser’s sports editor around that time and a long-time personal friend.

Bradley Neil and caddie Philip McKenna walk on the second hole during the first round of the 2015 Masters. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.Bradley Neil and caddie Philip McKenna walk on the second hole during the first round of the 2015 Masters. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.
Bradley Neil and caddie Philip McKenna walk on the second hole during the first round of the 2015 Masters. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“I remember most things, to be honest. I don’t remember every single shot but lots of other little things. I’d played there quite a bit before the first official practice round on the Monday and, as anyone who has been there will tell you, there’s just so much space. I remember standing on the first tee on the Monday, when I played with Rory, and thinking to myself, ‘this tee box is way bigger than I ever imagined’. Tiger [Woods] hadn’t showed up at that point and I also remember us having a crazy amount of fans following us.

“I also remember playing with Sandy Lyle and, though that was obviously cool, I remember thinking that it would have been even better if it had been someone present, so to speak. But no wonder it was such a big thing for the likes of my dad, my mum, Phil McKenna (his caddie), Stuart Graham (a close family friend) and all my dad’s friends who were staying in the same house as they’d all watched Sandy winning The Masters on TV, so that was an incredibly cool thing for them.”

On being contacted to set up our chat, I suggested that he might need a bit of time to reflect on the week in his own mind. “No,” was an immediate response to that due to the fact he “thinks about it most days” and he was probably only half-kidding.

“Rory was there on the Friday before and I remember sitting there with him having breakfast then lunch after playing separate practice rounds that day,” he went on. “He was hosting the Irish Open that year and he said that he wanted me to play in it, so we exchanged numbers.

It's been a tough time for Bradley Neil, pictured playing in the 2022 Swiss Challenge, in the professional ranks. Picture: Johannes Simon/Getty Images.It's been a tough time for Bradley Neil, pictured playing in the 2022 Swiss Challenge, in the professional ranks. Picture: Johannes Simon/Getty Images.
It's been a tough time for Bradley Neil, pictured playing in the 2022 Swiss Challenge, in the professional ranks. Picture: Johannes Simon/Getty Images.

“When I was registering on the Sunday, I remember messaging him to say that the earliest tee time for the Par 3 Contest was something like 3pm because we’d agreed we were going to play in that together as well. He replied saying ‘okay, leave it with me’. It was quite funny when I asked if I could put down another name alongside mine and, when I said ‘Rory McIlroy’, the person looked at me as though I was lying (laughing).

“Then, on the Monday or Tuesday, one of the Green Jackets came up to me and said, ‘just to let you know, Mr Neil, that Mr McIlroy is now playing at, say, 12.15 in the Par 3 Contest’ and then added that he’d asked if I could be moved with him, which I thought was cool.”

As was playing in the fun event on the spectacular short course at the Georgia venue. “You rock up and there’s a tiny putting green beside the first tee on the Par 3 Course,” said Neil. “Arnold Palmer was sitting in a chair on the first tee and Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Ben Crenshaw were all there having a putt. I thought, ‘wow, we are teeing off behind the legends’, which was ridiculous in my eyes obviously. I think Crenshaw didn’t hit the best of tee shots and Palmer was jibing him, which was awesome. I remember walking down the hole on the third when Nicklaus had a hole-in-one on the fourth and it was total bedlam. It’s things like that you simply never forget.”

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The previous year, Neil also played in The Open, another of the rewards for being Amateur champion, at Royal Liverpool, where the Claret Jug event is returning this summer. He teed up in the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay as well, turning professional the following week after being snapped up by the same management company that represents Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

Bradley Neil, pictured during the first round, secured his spot in The Masters eight years ago as the Amateur champion. Picture: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.Bradley Neil, pictured during the first round, secured his spot in The Masters eight years ago as the Amateur champion. Picture: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.
Bradley Neil, pictured during the first round, secured his spot in The Masters eight years ago as the Amateur champion. Picture: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

At that stage in his career, the Scot had a real spring in his step, believing he could go on to achieve everything single thing he’d ever dreamt of in golf. “I can definitely say, and you’ve known me since I played in the 2010 Scottish Boys, that I’ve walked with that air of confidence that I thought I could beat anybody I played,” he declared.

“I’ve always been good when my back’s been against the wall by being able to come out fighting. And, when I look at my Amateur Championship win, that’s what I did. I had to get up and down at the last four to qualify. I remember being three down after nine against a French lad and winning the next five holes. Against Zander in the morning, I think I was one down going into the back nine and only hit two greens but managed to come out all square. I had been playing so well up to that point the whole year.”

Missing the cut in all three of those major appearances was disappointing, but, certainly in terms of The Open, he felt his preparation would be a lot different if he could do it all over again.

“I kind of let other factors decide what I was doing,” he reflected. “I went and played the European Men’s in Finland the week before The Open whereas I am pretty sure I had an invite turned down for the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen. Looking back, as a professional how would my preparation be now? It would either be a week off doing nothing or playing on a links course or prepping for a tournament on a links course. Scottish Golf at the time were basically my management company and I had certain obligations to fill with them.

Rory McIlroy congratulates Bradley Neil the Scot had chipped in from the fairway during a practice round for the 2015 Masters. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.Rory McIlroy congratulates Bradley Neil the Scot had chipped in from the fairway during a practice round for the 2015 Masters. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.
Rory McIlroy congratulates Bradley Neil the Scot had chipped in from the fairway during a practice round for the 2015 Masters. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

“I also look back and think I probably did too much in the build up that week. I played nine holes then 18 and 18. Just little things like that. But, at the time, I was so confident. I think there was a BBC article that quoted me saying I could win The Open and I remember Ed Hodge (Scottish Golf’s press officer at the time) was absolutely furious as I never said that at all. Again, I can’t believe that was nine years ago. The way I played at Hoylake was a real shock to me after how well I’d performed a few weeks earlier when winning the Amateur. But I think the whole moment got the better of me as I remember being incredibly nervous over every single shot and just not being able to relax until nine holes to go in the second round, when it was too late and Phil was like, ‘let’s abandon the game plan and just hit driver on every hole’. I think I just played too conservative that week, which wasn’t my game at the time. I’d won the Amateur just by pummelling the course with my driver.”

Life as a professional has been tough for Neil. Helped by two second-placed finishes on the Challenge Tour in 2017, he secured a step up to what is now known as the DP World Tour the following season before slipping back down the ladder 12 months later. Since then, he’s been treading water.

“I honestly can’t believe where the time has gone in the last eight years,” he said in a rueful tone. “I mean, I look back on some of the things I decided over that time with a bit of regret. But mistakes are sometimes the only way you can learn in this game. It’s been a lot harder to me than it has to some of the other Scottish lads, I’d say. They’ve taken to higher heights in the game than I did, but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with my talent or lack of talent compared to them. Maybe the timing just wasn’t right. It’s such a confidence game. It’s such a fickle game.

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“I use Bob [MacIntyre] as a really good example in that respect, having grown up playing with Bob. When he got off Challenge Tour in 2018, the week of the event in Finland, when he lost in a play-off to Kim Koivu, I believe he’d talked about feeling a bit lost at that time and not sure about being out tour. But, by finishing second, he got the kick he needed and it was the same the year later on the main tour. He didn’t get off to the best of starts and he decided not to go to the China Open, which was a massive event for a rookie to get in as it was such big money. He decided instead to come home and then went out the week after and finished second in the British Masters. And, of course, he’s never really looked back.”

Neil, who currently sits a lowly 1615th in the world rankings, reckons mistakes were made by him and his team at the time when he set out as a main tour rookie five years ago. “In hindsight, I didn’t think we should have then tried to change things when I’d just got my tour card,” he declared. “I’d just had my season statistically, even compared to 2014 when I’d played incredibly well at amateur level, this was at a better level and I’d played way better. Surely it should just have been a case of tightening up a few areas and we’d have been good to go. Just keep this raw talent that we’ve got and go with it.

“But I went along with being advised about what needed to be done to improve. I had it in my head that no matter how I swung it, I would compete regardless. That was the case a lot of the time but, at the same time, you have to have confidence in what you are doing and, as the year went on, what became clear to me is that while I will always be a good ball-striker tee to green, as it got on to the scoring clubs and inside 100 yards, I’d become a totally different kid than I was the year previous or in 2014.

“It got to such a state that from March 2018 onwards I played with half my tools. Take the 18th hole at Kingsbarns, for example. For me, that is a hole you’d hit driver and have a flick on to the green, depending on the wind obviously. Yet I found myself saying to my caddie we need to hit 3-wood or maybe even a driving iron to make sure I’m not putting myself in a position where I’ve got a wedge in my hand in case I thin it or even duff it. It’s little things like that I felt destroyed me in terms of confidence. They are demons that have taken me such a long time to address and overcome.”

On the outside, Neil may still show an air of confidence, but, below the surface, his self-belief has definitely been dented. “Back in our amateur days, the likes of Grant Forrest, Jack McDonald, Callum Stewart and others would give me stick because I would always open my mouth before I’d thought about what I was going to say,” he said, smiling. “I’d tell them, ‘I’m way better than you’ and, most of the time, would then go out and back it up whereas nowadays, certainly in the last few years, I’ve needed my girlfriend Rosie, my dad, Phil, my coach Fintan Bonner, telling me how good I am and reminding me about that. I think the game has humbled me a lot since 2018.

“The other person who’s been there as well is Graeme Leslie, who does Golf Data Lab. He worked with Bob when he was doing incredibly well in the majors and he’s just a typical Aberdonian. He never blows smoke up your arse and is brutally honest. There have been times when Phil and Fintan have said to him that he should maybe rein it back a bit as he could see I was struggling and hurting so maybe not tell me ‘this is shit’. But I have always loved and admired that honesty from him as you get too many people in this game who are willing to tell you how good you are even though something might need improving.”

Now managed by Paul Lawrie through his Five Star Sports Agency, Neil’s main focus this season will be the Tartan Pro Tour, which, having been upped to 54-hole events as opposed to 36, is offering a Challenge Tour card in 2024 for the top performer. “I’d say that probably the last year and a half has probably been the hardest,” he said of his struggles. “I feel like I have put in the most work I ever have and it’s almost like to what avail has this actually been worth? I’ve found myself in tournaments just not playing with the same freedom as I once did as a kid. I found myself not being the same person on the course and also off the course.

“Because you are putting more effort in, you feel the game should give you something. I know, of course, that no-one really deserves anything from the game. But I feel at times the game is cheating me and there’s a bigger power above that is constantly keeping me down and, as a consequence, I’ve doubted myself so much.

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“Whenever I’m not at tournaments, I think that’s when it’s the hardest in terms of belief and having doubts because I’m not in an environment where I can go out and prove that I am still capable of being there and playing. No disrespect to any of the other Scottish guys, but I look at somebody with my talent and think ‘how come I’ve not even won a Tartan Pro Tour event?’ That’s nothing against the guys who play in those tournaments; it’s just what I see in my game.”

Englishman Matthew Baldwin recently landed his maiden DP World Tour event at the age of 37 in his 200th start on the circuit. Neil is ten years younger and admits that proved timely inspiration, as did Richard McEvoy, another English player, claiming his breakthrough at the age of 39 and in his 285th attempt in the 2019 Porsche European Open.

“I wouldn’t say that Matt and I are incredibly close, but I know him really well from playing on the Challenge Tour and the DP World Tour and he’s been through the absolute wringer as well. He grew up playing with guys like Tommy Fleetwood and Jack Senior and, when he was struggling, he must have been thinking ‘f***, I used to beat these guys as amateurs and now look at them’.

“One thing about golfers is that everybody has had problems, everybody has had demons. But you can draw a lot of inspiration from guys like Matt because they keep grinding. I honestly couldn’t believe that he’d played 200 times on the DP World Tour, but that shows the longevity of his career. Richard McEvoy was another one as he went toe-to-toe with Bryson DeChambeau when winning in his 30s. The game doesn’t recognise age and, while there are more guys like the Hojgaard twins [Nicolai and Rasmus] out there and a 20-year-old like Tom McKibbin, the ball doesn’t know how old the person is hitting it. As long as I’ve got a shred of belief that I can still make it to the top and win on the DP World Tour, PGA Tour or even be a major winner, I’ll keep trying as long as I can.

“Watching The Masters will inspire me to get back there one day, of course it will. But, at the moment, the most important thing for me, and the one thing I am dying for this year, is to play an event with just my game at full strength. I want to go out feeling there is nothing holding me back and have no fears on the golf course or anything like that. I’d love to see what I am capable of doing when I’m like that. I want to feel as though I am playing at Blair (Blairgowrie) with Phil, Stuart and my dad and I’ve just got total freedom as if nothing has gone wrong in my career. I’d love to see what I am capable of doing because if I can get to that level of confidence again, I’d like to see where my career can get to.”

As would many others and there's still time.

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