Golfer Daniel Augustus is determined to stay positive despite outlining his financial struggles in his continued attempt to make it to the highest level as a professional golfer.

Augustus finished second on the Elevations Golf Tour in the United States a couple of weeks ago after shooting the best final round of 68 in blustery conditions at Black Bear Golf Course in Florida.

That performance came under the stress of knowing he needed to make it into the top five just to pick up a cheque and cover bills before rolling on to the next pressure-filled tournament.

“The last three events I played, I finished second, fifth and second and if I didn’t finish in those positions I wouldn’t have been able to play in the next one as I would not have had the finances to play,” Augustus said.

“If I don’t play well not only am I not going to be able to play another tournament but I’m not going to be able to pay for my rent or feed myself. It’s a lot of pressure but at the same time I believe it’s building character and making me a stronger individual so I’m embracing every single second of it.”

As plenty of people in Bermuda know, golf is an expensive sport to play and Augustus is happy to speak of the sums involved as he attempts to climb his way up the ladder without the financial means to get to the next rung.

“To be honest because of the lack of funding right now I’m just playing whenever I can,” Augustus said.

“I’ve had partial backing for the past three years but I haven’t had the cash to be able to play Qualifying School. If I had full backing I could have a schedule and play every week. That’s what gets you to the next level, not just playing when you can but being able to play whenever there is any event on.

“I would love to play every week. This is what I love to do and I love trying to improve, but to get to the next level I need some serious help.

“I have a friend, Ashton van Horne, who is on the Korn Ferry Tour and he comes from a good background financially, but he was saying he spends 100K a year just to play. That’s where golf is now. It’s not a cheap sport, it’s expensive with travel and entry fees.

“To get to the Korn Ferry Tour and Q School you need at least $15,000 in the bank and that’s not including the tournaments for the rest of the year.

“I have my full status on the APGA Tour but that is $500 per entry and then you are talking travel, rental car, room and board and to make all that money back you have to finish in the top five.

“But these are things you have to do to get to the next level. You can’t just expect to show up at Q school and play well. You have to be ready to play and play in as many events as possible, but the average mini-tour event that is worth playing in you are spending at least $2,500 a week just to play.”

Augustus has a strong faith and refuses to abandon his dream despite sometimes feeling the temptation to quit.

“Those thoughts do creep in but you have to laugh at them because they are negative thoughts,” he said.

“You acknowledge it but you say to yourself ‘it’s all right, you are a pretty darn good golfer’ so you can’t let those thoughts fool you. They do creep in but it’s important to not allow them to linger.”

With field sizes on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour shrinking over the next two years and the number of spots for qualifiers also diminishing, Augustus is debating whether to switch his focus to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’ve been thinking of switching over to the Clutch Pro Tour, which is a feeder for the DP World Tour,” Augustus said.

“I’m considering changing my avenues a little bit and trying something different because things are becoming more difficult here in America with the tours basically shrinking themselves.

“We have to accept it but they are making it more difficult for guys like myself to make it. They are supposed to be growing the game but it doesn’t seem like that they are.

“They have already cut out some Monday qualifying this year and next year they will be cutting the number of qualifiers in the Mondays that they do have so instead of four players it will be two and I believe Korn Ferry is doing the same.”

One route that Augustus may explore this year is a return to the island for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Local Qualifier in the hope of securing a spot in the main event.

“I am thinking about coming back this year especially if I make the move to play in Europe,” Augustus said.

“Then I will definitely be doing the qualifier for the Bermuda Championship this year. I feel confident if I did play that I would do good.”