Andy Sullivan is ready to make his Masters debut

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

AMONG the global superstars surrounded by coaches, physios, mind gurus, managers and advisers at Augusta this week will be a chap from Nuneaton who once stacked shelves at Asda. He will be easy to spot because he will be walking around the property with a huge smile on his face. His name is Andy Sullivan and he can't quite believe what has happened to him in the past year or so.

From nowhere, Sullivan won three times in 2015 and now stands in 30th place in the world rankings. The 29 year old is living the dream - and how. 

He is an unlikely superstar, a man who is a tad overweight, always appears slightly unkempt and looks in need of a good shave. But when he gets a golf club in his hand it is a different matter altogether.

Sullivan was a good amateur, good enough to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup. He was advised to turn professional by none other than Lee Westwood, a man who knows a thing or two about winning golf tournaments and contending in majors.

Sullivan is under no illusions about the size of the task he faces at Augusta. This is his first Masters and golfers don't just turn up here and win. He will be delighted to first of all make the cut and then see what happens over the weekend.

He learnt his golf at a club called Purley Chase and played for the men's team when he was still a boy. It was just as well that he had a gift for the game because he didn't enjoy his school days and used to bunk off to pound golf balls instead of attending class. Inevitably, he was found out and was forced to return to school and go through the motions, but all he ever wanted to do was play golf.

As good as he was at the game - and he was very good - he was consistently overlooked by England representative teams. Perhaps it was because of his happy-go-lucky attitude. Sullivan has always played golf with a smile on his face. Even when he was the second-ranked amateur in the country he was overlooked by England for the home internationals.

“Maybe it was my attitude," he said. "They thought I wasn’t focused enough. I will go out there with a smile on my face but when it comes down to it I am a very serious person and I want to perform at the highest level. When you’re an amateur your career is decided by a couple of people and if you don’t get on with those people you have problems.”

A chance encounter with Westwood arranged by the English Golf Union changed his life forever. Westwood played several holes with 12 top amateurs and, afterwards, told Sullivan that he should turn pro.

At the time, he was stacking shelves in an Asda supermarket in Nuneaton to fund his amateur career. After making the Walker Cup team, he decided to follow Westwood's advice. And the rest is history.

It wasn't easy. Some golfers turn professional and make an impact immediately. That wasn't what happened to Sullivan. He had to work hard, but eventually he made it to the European Tour and started to make some progress. But there was no hint that he would ever be anything more than a useful journeyman until he made his breakthrough last year in the most spectacular fashion.

Apart from the three wins, he also went head to head with Rory McIlroy at the end-of-season DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. -placed Branden Grace. He has also Sullivan made the cut in the six events he’s played on this year’s PGA Tour.

What does he expect of Augusta? “I am completely in the dark when it comes to it," he said. "I have no idea what to expect. I imagine I am going to be overwhelmed when I get there because it is such a spectacle. I am going to have to manage myself and handle that part of it more than the golf really.”

Sullivan has already faced Jordan Spieth, the defending Masters champion. They played one another in the 2011 Walker Cup and the American won 3&2. The Englishman says that his lasting memory of that occasion was 18-year-old Spieth's uncanny ability to hole 20-foot putts.

"I played with him a few weeks ago, he’s such a nice kid," Sullivan said. "He has not changed one bit since that Walker Cup. The same genuine kid that he was then. I can’t speak highly of him enough. One of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.” 

And that is how most people who know him would sum up Sullivan. Look out for the guy with the smile on his face at Augusta and remember what he looks like because you will be seeing a lot more of him.