Today, Graeme Storm will be wondering how best to invest the nearly $200,000 he won by finishing T-6 in the WGC-CA Championship at Doral. It seems odd to think that not too long ago, he was wondering how to afford Christmas presents.
While Geoff Ogilvy walked off with the title, it’s debatable whether his first win since the 2006 U.S. Open was greater than Storm’s sixth-place finish.
Young golfers could learn a lot from studying the life of 30-year-old Graeme Raymond Storm. His career proves two things: never take success for granted and keep faith in yourself.
I was at Royal County Down in 1999 when Storm won the British Amateur Championship. What struck me most that week was how his play stood head and shoulders above the field.
He played a key role later that year in helping Great Britain & Ireland win the Walker Cup at Nairn, Scotland, playing on the same team as Luke Donald and Paul Casey.
He was a worthy Amateur Champion, and I fully expected him to become a worthy European Tour pro.
I can’t believe it’s taken so long for Storm to rise to the top. Yet he is lucky to be still playing the game for a living. This one time can’t-miss kid nearly missed spectacularly.
Storm paid four visits to the European Tour Qualifying School attempting to get his full card. He eventually had to resort to the European Challenge Tour - in 2004, he placed third on the junior European circuit.
Those five years from the peak of the British amateur game to gaining a foothold on the European Tour were hampered by injury, an acrimonious run-in with his management company, International Sports Management, and serious contemplation about leaving the game.
Storm also made the same mistake countless amateurs do when they make the jump into the pro game: He thought he had to make swing changes to make it on tour. That decision nearly cost Storm his career.
“I tried to change too much in my golf swing in my first year as a professional,” he said. “I thought I had to change, and I just went too far. I didn’t get better. I got worse, and I ended up with about three different coaches and the problems just snowballed.
“I also tried too many different things with sports psychologists, and it really messed me up. I just kept going backwards after that.”
Storm’s nadir came when he spent a winter working in a cake factory in his native Hartlepool in Northeast England to make ends meet – and afford Christmas presents.
Somehow, Storm never fully gave up hope. The affable Englishman worked his way back to the top with the help of Scottish national coach Ian Rae. Storm came of age professionally last year when he won the French Open, about five years late according to my 1999 prediction.
In the aftermath of Doral, Storm admitted to feeling the pressure of contending for a big title. He felt he had learned from the experience and would be a better player because of it.
“It just shows how far I've come in the last few years,” Storm said. “Hopefully, it will continue for a long time, and I'll get back into this position sooner rather than later.”
No doubt Storm will push on from this performance, but the lessons he learned at Doral pale in comparison to those he learned working in that cake factory and struggling to reach his dream.
“It taught me that you can’t take things for granted,” Storm said. “I also learned that you don’t have to do anything special to play on Tour. If you’re good enough to get on tour, you’re good enough to stay. Don’t try to overhaul your game.”
That’s advice aspiring pros can take to the bank.
Posted: 3/25/2008
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