Think the pros have it easy? Meet the Tour rookie who was on state benefits five years ago

In the most candid interview you’ll read all year, Lyle & Scott ambassador Brandon Robinson-Thompson opens up about his mental health and money troubles, how close he came to quitting golf, and why he’s now living the dream on the DP World Tour…

Brandon Robinson-Thompson doesn’t quite know what to make of the last 24 hours. The 32-year-old has just spent the last week living a life of luxury in Turkey, contending for the biggest victory of his career on the DP World Tour.

He had his chances, too, and even held a three-shot lead heading into the final round after tying the course record with a nine-under 62. That he was unable to convert from a position of strength would usually take some getting over, but Robinson-Thompson isn’t that way inclined. Not now, anyway. Just being in the fight feels like a victory in itself.

Two and a half years ago, Robinson-Thompson didn’t even have a tour card, let alone a regular source of income. He was back living with his mum on the Isle of Wight at the time and it was only due to the generosity of others that he was able to practice and enter two tournaments in the Middle East, which is where his revival began.

Now he sits 25th in the Race to Dubai, having just banked more money for finishing fourth at the Turkish Airlines Open than he did for winning the Scottish Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour last year.

To appreciate just how far he has come, we spent an hour in his company and asked him to expand on his viral social media post, which alluded to some of the struggles he went through prior to winning his DP World Tour card last year.

The following is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation, in which he details the harsh realities of trying to make it on tour, the strain it placed on his bank balance and relationship, and why his wife refuses to caddie for him anymore…

My mental state was pretty dark during the pandemic. My visa in the United States got revoked, so I had to move back home to England. I left my girlfriend in the States and my plan was to go home, get a new visa, and come back in three months. But then Covid played out and a couple of months turned into 10 months. I ended up moving back in with my mum in this small little box room in the Isle of Wight. I think she loved having me there, but I felt like my career and life had been put on pause.

I went at least a year without playing. Although government guidelines did suggest that athletes could practice and prepare for events, our local clubs weren’t allowing it. I did some roofing for a bit and I claimed universal credit for a couple of months, just so I had some money coming in. I don’t like labelling how I felt as ‘depressed’, but I like I was suffocating because I had all these dreams and aspirations that I couldn’t progress at the time. I just couldn’t see a way out for a good year or so.

Covid was a reset button for me. It’s not like I wasn’t trying before, but there was so much thinking time that it made me realise, ‘I’ve got to make something happen here.’ Luckily, I got my EuroPro Tour card at qualifying school and I think I played all the events that season in 2021. It was a weird situation because I was entering the events, but they couldn’t put me on the tee sheet because I hadn’t paid the entry fees. I somehow managed to get around it by playing good and earning enough money to pay for my next start. I was making 700/800 quid, and then the entry fee was £300. I was staying in a couple of hotels, so it was just enough to get by. It was fun to be back playing and people were in similar positions, so we were kind of on that journey together.

The financial side has never been easy for me and I don’t think it is for a lot of professional golfers, especially those who aren’t world beaters. I never had the backing to play professionally, and actually got very lucky that one of my home courses in South Carolina raised like $25,000 one year for me. That essentially got me my first car at the age of 26, just so I could drive around and play events.

There were a couple of occasions when I got down to less than $1,000 in my account, but then I won a tournament which kept me afloat. That probably happened three or four times where I’ve got myself into a hole and somehow found my way out. It certainly moulded me into the man I am today. I wouldn’t be the same person if I had it easy.

The big turning point for me was the Qatar World Cup. My friend was living out there and I watched a bunch of games. I went back after Christmas for like two months and I remember saying to my buddy, ‘I don’t know where I’m going to play this year but when an opportunity arises, I’m going to be ready’. I then I got chatting to the guy who was running the MENA Tour and even though I wasn’t a member, he invited me to play a couple of events in Egypt.

I flew straight from Qatar and finished 11th in my first event, then first in the second. In that moment, it felt like so much pressure had been lifted. Straight away, I signed up for eight events on the Clutch Tour, won three of them, and topped their mid-season Order of Merit. So, in the space of five months, I went from playing on the MENA Tour with no money to qualifying for the 2023 Open Championship and earning a second start on the DP World Tour. Fast forward a few weeks, I made the cut at Royal Liverpool and then won my first Challenge Tour event on my next start.

For so long I had been worrying about being able to fund my career. Then, all of sudden I won 15 grand on the MENA Tour, 40 grand on the Clutch Pro Tour, 40 grand at The Open, and another 40 grand from that Challenge Tour event. I remember almost laughing and thinking, ‘How has this happened? I literally went from having no money at the start of the year to then feeling like I’ve made it.

I feel like I belong out here on Tour now. It is a strange dynamic when you first get your card because you’re just another guy until you start playing well. Then, all of a sudden, people start saying hello and acknowledging you. These are the little things that don’t get spoken about, but you do notice. I’ve been going out for dinner a lot with Ross Fisher at events and I remember watching him in Ryder Cups. So that’s a little surreal, building friendships with people I used to watch on TV.

Today, I literally walked out of the players’ lounge and onto the range and I was just filled with gratitude. It was sunny and I’m at this incredible property, playing this insane golf course. I’m in my rookie season on the DP World Tour, have already got a bunch of top 10s, and have shot two course records now. I find it hard to believe that there is anyone more grateful than I am to be out here, living out my dream.

I am so focused right now on my performance and achieving my goals. A byproduct of that is that I’m going to be financially secure, which I want for myself, my wife and our future family. One of the most fulfilling things I did was buying my sister her first car. Internally, it’s quite nice that I can do that and give her a helping hand.

I would love to play on the DP World Tour for a few seasons, but I know I can finish in the top 10 on the Race to Dubai and get my PGA Tour card. My wife is from the States and I’ve lived there for eight years, so it’s a second home for me anyway. There are so many amazing events I’ve watched on TV, and I’d love to get the opportunity to play in them. I’m already looking forward to playing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth because that was the first golf event I ever attended.

My wife has just joined me on the road and is going to be with me for the whole of the summer. Our dream has always been to travel the world and visit all these amazing places and venues. Often what happens is that you don’t get to share these experiences with anybody when you’re competing on tour, but now we’re in a position where we can be together and share these nice experiences. Sadly, she hung up her caddie bib last year. When I won the Irish Challenge in 2023, she was on my bag that week and she was carrying again during the Challenge Tour Grand Final, when I won my card. So, our thinking is that she caddied for my first Challenge Tour event and hopefully my last.

I’ve said that I want to win twice on Tour this season. I know I can win, but I want to do it over and over again and make my grandad proud. I want him to see me do it because he’s always believed in me. It’s funny because he always used to tell me I was going to do this, that, and the other. Whenever we speak on the phone, he always brings it up and says, ‘I told you’. I used to think it was crazy when he made all these wild predictions, but now it doesn’t seem so wild. He’s one of the main reasons why I’m doing what I’m doing. I can’t wait for the day when I can call him up and tell him, ‘Today I did it, I won on the DP World Tour.’ He’ll be over the moon.

Brandon Robinson-Thompson was speaking to TG as an ambassador for Lyle & Scott.