European Tour Winner Daniel Gavins WITB & Interview

When Daniel Gavins turned professional in 2012, the world was his oyster. But success doesn't come easy.  Following the, almost to be expected, ups and downs of life on tour, 2021 has been a standout year for Gavins, who is based out of Howley Hall in Leeds. 

Golfshake’s Gear Expert Ryan Rastall and resident PGA Pro at Howley Hall, recently met up with Dan to gain insight into his 2021 season and what features in his bag this year. Watch the video below as well as reading up on Dan's story so far.

Dan Gavins - The Story So Far

2016 was his most successful year since turning pro in 2012; of the 16 tournaments he entered, he made the cut in four of them - subsequently finishing the year 204th.

Gavins did not feature on the European Tour again until 2019, where he made eight cuts and finished the season ranked 178th.

His scoring average had improved too, finishing the season with 72.72 - an improvement on 2016’s 73.08. When golfers reflect on previous seasons, scoring average is a statistic that is particularly important to them. As long as that is steadily improving, it’s evident progress is being made.

The Englishman did not play in enough tournaments to generate a scoring average in 2020 - due to COVID-19 - and subsequently made two cuts all season, which included finishing T59 at the Ram Cape Town Open in February and a tie for 18th at the Euram Bank Open in July.

This year, 2021, things have been a little different for the 30-year-old with Gavins enjoying a stretch of making ten consecutive cuts through the months of May to August.

He recorded his first top 10 at Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open (T7), before securing his second a few weeks later at the Dormy Open (T10).

The Challenge de Cadiz almost resulted in his first win (T6), while he also pushed the leaders at the Euram Bank Challenge (T8) and the Italian Challenge (T9).

The following week from the Italian Challenge and Gavins’ caddie was unavailable for the impending tournament in Ireland, the ISPS Handa World Invitational. Employing golf vlogger Liam Harrison (Golf Mates) on the bag, the duo travelled to Ireland for the tournament.

The tournament’s ethics are excellent: both men and women playing the same golf course and for an equal prize kitty is something that golf has long been calling out for.

On the final day, Gavins was seven shots off the lead and probably looking to secure yet another top ten finish. What he did not expect, however, was to secure his maiden European Tour title.

Speaking to Sky Sports, “I just can’t believe it!” Gavins exclaimed. “I tried to shoot as low as I could today. Seven behind, I didn’t really think I was in with a chance of winning.”

2021 is undoubtedly a breakthrough year for Gavins and at the time of writing this article he sits 88th on the Race to Dubai rankings giving him an outside chance of still qualifying for the season ending event.

Daniel Gavins WITB

• Driver – Epic Speed
• 4-wood – Epic Speed
• Utility – X Forged
• Irons 4i-9i – Apex TCB
• Wedges – Jaws MD5, C-Grind (46°, 52°, 56°, 60°)
• Putter – Ping Heppler
• Golf Ball – Pro V1 X