Three years ago Marcus Armitage was sharing a tent with his father Philip in the Oxfordshire countryside as he competed in EuroPro Tour Qualifying School.
The pair, who couldn’t afford a hotel, had made the long journey down from Skelmanthorpe, near Huddersfield, as a then 26 year old Armitage plotted how he would climb up the ranks of professional golf.
This week the Englishman teed it up with the world’s best at the UBS Hong Kong Open, while last week he played at the renowned Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa.
Many European Tour members can grow accustomed to the jet-setter lifestyle of a top-level professional golfer, but Yorkshire’s Armitage often reminds himself of his humble beginnings – playing with his father’s old clubs on the farm where he grew up.
“It was my dad who got me into golf – even though he didn’t have a clue about the game,” he said. “We grew up on a farm and although he never played I used to whack it around with his clubs.
“I started doing this when I was 12, and it was about three years later when I really thought to myself that I could go on and do this as a career.
“I won my first event that I played on the EuroPro Tour back in 2013, so I settled into that quite quickly.”
Armitage’s debut EuroPro Tour win was one of 14 victories he amassed throughout an incredibly successful 2013, the year in which he was also crowned the EuroPro Tour Rookie of the Year.
Yet not content with his physique – he weighed 18 stone at his heaviest – Armitage began to make drastic changes to both his lifestyle and his swing.
“I lost a lot of weight the following year, and it took me a couple of seasons to get my game back,” he said.
“It has been a hard few years working with my coach Anthony Sheehy. For three years we were meeting every morning when I’m home at 5am, working hard.
“The EuroPro Tour was a great developmental tour and gave me a lot more confidence as originally I wasn’t sure if I was good enough – but I earned a card for the Challenge Tour through my performances on that Tour.”
After returning to winning ways on the EuroPro Tour in 2015, with two victories in three months, Armitage came on to the 2016 Road to Oman slimmer, yet hungrier.
His rookie Challenge Tour season was a relatively unremarkable one until September, where he claimed a share of second place at the Volopa Irish Challenge hosted by Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort.
That result helped the 29 year old earn enough points for a fortnight in China, where he took part in two of the most lucrative events on Europe’s top developmental tour in October.
After a poor showing at the rain-affected Hainan Open, the Englishman arrived in Foshan knowing only a win would be good enough if he was to mount a late challenge for a European Tour card.
What followed was four rounds in the 60s, a 19 under par total, and a one-shot victory, sparking emotional scenes as an overwhelmed Armitage tried to process what he had accomplished.
“I had a poor year on the Challenge Tour up until the end of the season where I had a brilliant finish,” he said. “There was a lot of emotion when I won in Foshan and it is something I will remember for a long time.
“I was mobbed by the volunteers afterwards, and I think that will prepare me well for the European Tour, as even if you aren’t winning there will still be people there who will want to take a picture with you.
“I know that on my good weeks I can be up there and compete with the best, but this season it will be more about improving on how I perform during the bad weeks.”
