James Sugrue: A kick in the stomach not to be playing Irish Open but no point dwelling on it

One of the things I’m learning as a professional golfer is that you have to be always ready to play. I don’t have a schedule, and that can be a bit annoying

James Sugrue at the 2020 Irish Open at Galgorm Castle. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson

I’m disappointed not to be in Mount Juliet this week, but my hopes for an invitation fell through. It would have been a nice one to play in my first year as a professional, but it’s not the end of the world. We’ll move on.

I understand how these things work — last year I got a late invite after an intervention by Lee Westwood. We had played together for the first two rounds at the US Open and he was good enough to say to the media he was shocked I hadn’t got an invite for the Irish Open the following week. So I didn’t know I was playing at all, but a few hours later I got an invite.