UNPARALLELED WORK ETHIC

                    Bradley Neil in action in the Junior Ryder Cup match

BRADLEY NEIL BOUND FOR THE TOP, 

SAYS COACH KEVIN HALE

PGA NEWS RELEASE 

British amateur champion Bradley Neil is en route to the top thanks to an 
unparalleled work ethic according to the PGA pro who helped put him on 
track for success. 

 PGA coach Kevin Hale has worked with the 18 year old for four years, taking
 him from boy’s champion to the grandest stage of them all, the Open 
Championship.

 The pair will be almost 9000 miles apart come Sunday evening – but the 
venues the pair will be gracing demonstrates just how far the teenager 
has come.

 Neil will be in South Africa having just competed in the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.His pro Hale, meanwhile, will be at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 
Awards in Glasgow, where Neil is among the nominees for the junior 
award. 

St Andrews Links pro Hale, a former coach at the Belfry, will have donned 
his tuxedo twice by the end of this month – his protégé was victorious 
at Scotland’s equivalent only last week. 

And he admitted the Blairgowrie boy deserves every accolade passed his way 
after a year in which he has gained his first tour starts and 
represented his continent in the Junior Ryder Cup.
“He’s unbelievable to work with,” Hale explained. “His feet are firmly on the
 ground and he wants to work hard and achieve all of the goals we set 
him.“Ultimately it’s a coach’s dream when your player thinks about what 

you’re asking them to do and comes back with more ideas.
“That’s what Bradley does. He doesn’t just go off and mindlessly do 

what I tell him to, he’s always thinking, always challenging things, 

always coming up with ideas.” 

Hale is the latest in a succession of top-level pros who have helped to 
mould Neil’s game. Ian Rae, Spencer Henderson and PGA rules official 
Charles Dernie, the Blairgowrie Golf Club head professional,  all sculpted 

their own pieces of the finished product along the way. “It’s difficult to point 

out a weak area that we’ve had to improve,” Hale considered.“He was already

 a very good player, it was just about tweaking a few aspects of his game. 

“He’s now lowering his scores simply because he’s getting the ball into 
better positions around the green, and when he’s there he’s being more 
professional and clinical

 “The best golfers work extremely hard and get themselves prepared mentally 
too. Bradley understands that these things are vital if he wants to reach the top 

of the game.
“There’s no substitute for hard work and enthusiasm in golf.”
What does Hale reckon the future could hold for the young Scot?                     
“We’re trying not to get too carried away,” Hale stated

 “It’s difficult to predict exactly what he’ll go on to achieve, but I can 
tell you we have some high aspirations and lofty goals.”“It  would be amazing 

to see him playing on tour regularly and also playing in the sport’s biggest 

events – I know he has his eyes on the Masters and the US Open

 “Bradley  knows how important it is that he continues as he is. He needs to

 carry on preparing himself properly to ensure that he goes forward, makes 

the most of his ability, and achieves everything he wants to achieve.”