Hawes has nothing to lose turning pro

The 35-year-old has been a member at Littlehampton for 21 years and believes he has nothing to lose by turning professional and playing on the TP Tour.

He has won Littlehampton Golf Club’s club championship 11 times and has also won the Sussex Open Championship – last year – and the Sussex Amateur Championship.

He said: “It’s a new challenge, a new chapter and something different for me.

“I thought I’d give it a go and I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve played in Open qualifiers before and I played against pros when I won the Sussex Open last year at Sweetwoods.

“I’ll just go out and do all I can. I’m very open-minded about it and there will be less pressure being a professional.

“As an amateur, I’m quite well-known when I enter competitions but I’ll go into competitions as a professional under the radar.

“It will be like a breath of fresh air for me. I didn’t want to look back in years to come and regret not turning pro. You only live once, so I’m going for it and will just see what happens.”

Hawes will play one-day TP Tour events on days off from his job. He said: “I’ll test the water with a few TP Tour events. I’ll play in them when I have days off from work and, if I do well, hopefully that will attract some sponsorship.

“I haven’t pencilled any tournaments in just yet, although with the TP Tour you can enter at late notice anyway.”

Prize money for winning a TP Tour event can range from £800 to £3,000, while the cost to enter is around £100 to £120.

Hawes, a plus-four handicap golfer, will remain associated to Littlehampton when he turns professional. His earliest golfing memories are Ian Woosnam winning the Masters in 1991 and Nick Faldo winning The Open in 1992.

He used to play golf before school, and then joined Littlehampton as a 14-year-old.

At Littlehampton, he set the amateur course record in 2009, with a nine-under 61, in a round which included eight birdies and an eagle, after a bogey on the par-three third hole.