The bigger prize now in sight as Parry eyes Dubai slot

Given that in his first spell among the continent’s elite he went from a Tour winner to losing his card in the space of 14 months, such a modest ambition was understandable.

However, after finding form in what has been a summer punctuated by large periods of inactivity, Parry heads into the autumn with redefined goals, and more importantly, his future secure.

After 20 tournaments, the 26-year-old from Harrogate has won enough money to come back for another shot next year.

In fact, such has been his progress since May when he qualified for his major debut at the US Open the following month, that Parry tees off at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland with Dubai on his mind.

The top 60 at the end of the season duke it out in the desert for the richest prize in European golf.

Parry is 57th on the money list, thanks mainly to a fifth-place finish at the Scottish Open and fourth last week at the Wales Open.

He is also the highest-placed of the White Rose quartet on the European Tour, though Sheffield’s Danny Willett is only one place and a handful of change behind his fellow former Yorkshire Amateur champion.

Malton’s Simon Dyson is 74th while Hull’s Richard Finch has left himself in desperate need of at least one top-10 finish from the remaining half a dozen tournaments as he languishes in 137th, 80,000 euros shy of the top 110.

Parry has earned 374,262 euros (£315,916) this season, with his latest pay cheque at Celtic Manor last Sunday, earning him a place in the field at Crans-sur-Sierre this week.

“Retaining my card was the aim when I started back this year,” said Parry.

“That’s not easy because you don’t get into many of the big-money tournaments like the PGA at Wentworth.

“So when you do get into an event like Wales and Scotland, you have to make them count, and if you do, you can retain your card comfortably.

“And once you’ve done that it’s about re-evaluating goals.

“You can’t just stick around and be happy with what you’ve achieved.

“I want to finish well this year but also prepare for next season by working on a few things.

“It’s good that I can now work on parts of my game during tournaments without the pressure being on to retain my card.”

Parry’s re-evaluated goals have centred on the Dubai World Championship in mid-November, a target that is well within his reach given his current form.

The stumbling block is the limited number of tournaments he can get into.

He only got into this week’s event high up in the Alps because of his finish in Wales, and after that he has the KLM Open in Holland and maybe the Portugal Masters to contest.

Even the Alfred Dunhill Links, in which he finished third three years ago when he was in the form of his life, might be too deep a field to go down as far as a player with a status that only gets him into so many events.

There is also the small prospect of competing in the inaugural Turkish Open the week before Dubai, a tournament that was initially for the world’s top 50, but is now being hit with a number of withdrawals from the PGA Tour.

Down time, though, does not worry him. After his strong showing at the Scottish Open, Parry didn’t play again for five weeks, due to major championships, WGC events and the reduced number of events on a European Tour struggling for sponsors.

“After a good finish you’re always worried that you’re going to lose your form with a long period of inactivity,” said Parry, whose summer form began when he qualified for, and finished 28th, at the US Open.

“Sitting on your backside for five weeks is never healthy because if you miss the cut on your first tournament back, that can have a real affect on your confidence.

“But I came back and got a good 23rd at Gleneagles last week, and then played really well from 100 yards in at Celtic Manor, and snook up the leaderboard on the final day.”

What would make his participation in Dubai certain and his next year on Tour a lot easier, would be a second win to add to the Vivendi Cup he won back in 2010.

And Parry is certainly showing the form to become the first Yorkshireman to win on Tour since Willett in Germany last summer.

“I’m not really putting myself into position to win, but what I’m doing is racking up more top 10s than usual,” said Parry.

“If I can keep getting myself into the top 10 and into contention then I give myself a better chance of winning, and I’ve always had the tendency to throw a win in.”

While US Amateur champion Matt Fitzpatrick prepares for the Walker Cup in New York, Richie Ramsay, the man who won that trophy in 2006, defends his title in Switzerland this week.