'I'm good enough to compete with these guys': Ben Schmidt ready to take first steps on DP World Tour adventure

Among the obvious aspirations like trying to win a tournament or qualify for the Open, was the big one at the bottom of the list - earn a place on the DP World Tour.

Last weekend, after a whirlwind end to the season that took him to China and Mallorca in a mad scramble to retain playing privileges on the Challenge Tour, Schmidt was able to put a tick next to his big ambition for the year.

For the 22-year-old had achieved the dream, negotiating the gruelling examination of the DP World Tour’s Qualifying School Final Stage in Tarragona, Spain, to get his hands on one of the 20 places on the continent’s elite circuit.

Determined to seize every opportunity that comes his way over the next 12 months, Schmidt will board a flight to Melbourne this morning to begin his season at next week’s ISPS Handa Australian Open.

“I was over the moon to make it, very relieved,” said Schmidt, winner of two of the biggest amateur titles in the game aged just 16.

“It’s been a busy time, I’ve played some good golf so to actually get the job done and get that status for DP World Tour is huge for me.

“Ticking that goal off when I got home last weekend was really pleasing.”

Playing pressure-free golf in Tarragona was the key.

“My season had been pretty crazy towards the end. Five weeks ago I was struggling to keep my Challenge Tour card, then I managed to qualify for the event in China, played well there and got to the Grand Final in Mallorca, and because of that I was exempt until final stage of qualifying,” says Schmidt, who was attempting Qualifying School for the third time.

“So my mindset going into final stage was it’s just another free shot at it, so I didn’t feel that much pressure. I’d already done one job in securing a Challenge Tour card for next year, I’d been in a good run of competing but my expectations weren’t high because I was tired and mentally and physically it’s a long week.

“The pressure only came when we had the last few holes to play.”

Handling the emotional peaks and troughs across six days can be the breaking of many a golfer, but throw in an extra day when rain forced the postponement of the final round by 24 hours and Schmidt - comfortably sitting inside the top 20 with 18 holes to play - had a nervous wait.

“I was in a great spot after five rounds, in a really good flow, so that rain delay was the last thing I needed,” he says.

“It was like a rest day for some, but I wanted to keep going. It was hard to come out of that day and still perform.”

He did though, a final-round 70 seeing him overtaken by a handful of players, but not too many.

The progression to the elite circuit validates some of the big decisions the Rotherham Golf Club member has made over the course of a career that he has crammed a lot into. A footballer growing up in Tankersley, north Sheffield, he only started taking golf seriously at the age of 12. He played at Grange Park, then Wath, before moving to Rotherham.

He won the Brabazon and Carris trophies at the age of 16, two huge amateur events.

“It probably didn’t feel that young when I was doing it at the time, but now I look back on it, I was very young,” he admits.

He was made to wait for his Walker Cup debut, which finally came at Seminole in Florida in September 2021.

He had already committed to go to the University of West Tennessee on a golf scholarship but the lure of the professional game proved hard to resist. Management companies were circling and Schmidt signed with White Rose Sports Management, a company co-owned by former Leeds United footballer James Milner.

“I decided to try and gain experience in those next few years as a professional, rather than going to uni and staying amateur,” he said. “However I did it, getting to the DP World Tour around this age was the goal and I think that experience in professional events helped.”

And so he joins a host of Yorkshiremen on the DP World Tour.

“There’s a few guys I’ve been talking to this year on Challenge Tour, John Parry being one,” says Schmidt, who should get into a minimum of 15 events in his rookie year, starting with Australia next week and Mauritius before Christmas.

“I’ve not specifically been picking people’s brains, but I know these lads, I know their games and I feel like I should be there, that I’m good enough to compete alongside them on that tour.”

So what about goals for 2025?

“I’ve not written them down yet,” he laughs alluding to what he did at the start of this year.

“As a minimum it’ll be nice to keep my card.

"Then there’s the extras, like winning an event. I’m not going into these tournaments to try and finish 10th or fifth, for me every event I tee it up in I’m trying to win.

“Then there’s DP finals, or a PGA Tour card for top 10 at the end of the year. There’s a lot to play for, but right now, I’m just happy to have the opportunity.”

To help him through the year, Schmidt is looking for sponsors. Anyone interested can contact [email protected]

Yorkshire has 11 players eligible to play on the DP World Tour in 2025

Matt Fitzpatrick, 30, Sheffield, 2022 US Open winner, 10 wins worldwide

Danny Willett, 37, Sheffield, former Masters winner, eight wins worldwide

Dan Bradbury, 25, Wakefield, third season, two wins

Dan Brown, 30, Northallerton, third season, one win

Daniel Gavins, 33, Leeds, two wins

John Parry, 38, Harrogate, one win

Sam Bairstow, 26, Sheffield, second season

Joe Dean, 30, Sheffield, second season

Alex Fitzpatrick, 25, Sheffield, second season

Joshua Berry, 19, Doncaster, second season

Ben Schmidt, 22, Rotherham, debut season