'An inspiration' - Yule steps up for Tour challenge

With Christmas only a month away, it is an appropriate time for golfer Jack Yule to be making his debut on the DP World Tour.

The 31-year-old from Norfolk is due to play the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane this weekend after coming through a "gruelling" qualifying school to win his Tour card.

And he is relishing the prospect of mixing it with the likes of Rory McIlroy and teeing it up with Tommy Fleetwood over the months ahead.

"It's something I've worked hard for. I turned pro on my birthday when I was 23 and I said 'I'll give this a go, see what happens'," Yule told BBC Look East.

"Playing events with Rory or my mate [Marco] Penge, I'm just really looking forward to seeing how they hit it and what the difference is.

"It is a massive step up. I've always felt I'm good enough, the hard part is getting there."

The tournament in Australia - which launches the 2026 schedule even though we are still in 2025 - begins just 15 days after Yule, from King's Lynn, finished 12th in qualifying in Spain, with 20 Tour spots up for grabs.

His performances on the Clutch Pro Tour earned him exemption to the second of three stages and he shot rounds of 67, 66, 70, 69 to finish joint fifth at Albacete.

The final stage was played over six rounds at Tarragona and his hopes suffered a setback when, following an opening 68, he carded a 74 in the second.

Yule demonstrated his resolve by reeling off 66, 69 and 67 before finishing in style with his best round of the week, a 65.

Among the players to miss out on full playing rights were former Tour winners Marc Warren, Chris Wood, Alexander Levy and David Horsey.

"I try not to look at leaderboards and just play my own game and it was good enough," said Yule, who only learned of his success when he attended a post-final round interview.

"The first person I rang was one of my sponsors because I'd had a missed call [from him] - I hadn't even signed my card and he'd already rung me.

"Then I spoke to my father and broke into tears of relief. We had a good chat and cried together. It was nice."

Golfers from Norfolk graduating to play at the top level are few and far between.

Andrew Marshall, who plays at Dereham Golf Club but was born in Nottinghamshire, qualified in 2001 and was a winner on the European Seniors Tour in October.

Yule has made his way in the game with support from the county's Golf Union, having first appeared for their second team when he was 15.

"I won 8&6 and they were really happy with that, so I got put up to the first team," he said.

NCGU development officer Sammy Martin hopes Yule's success will spur on their younger players to try and emulate him.

"It's a fantastic outcome for Norfolk county golf and for him. He's worked so hard from junior platform to senior level and achieved so much," she said.

"I think he will be an inspiration for every boy that picks up a golf club and wants to wear a county shirt.

"We ask for commitment and dedication - when our junior boys come in with a handicap, we throw yoga, psychology, nutrition, everything we can [at them] as a platform for them to develop their talent, but most of all they have to have hard work and commitment.

"Because he's done it from where they are starting from, they feel they might be able to do it one day."

The list of former winners of the Australian PGA Championship contains some of the great names of golf: Gary Player, Greg Norman, and more recently, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith.

No British player has lifted the trophy since David Howell in 1998, but Yule is determined to keep his feet on the ground and just make the most of the experience of playing in a country he calls "the big Oz".

"Doubts come into my mind and I'm sure there'll be some in the future but I like to prove myself wrong. One day it can be really windy and the next it will be flat, calm - a completely different golf course, so your mentality has to change," he said.

"The main objective is to secure my full playing rights for the following year. That would be such a big achievement.

"The key for me is not to change things and just play how I've been playing and mentality wise, [to] take things on the chin if it doesn't go to plan. There's always tomorrow.

"I've always wanted to see how good I am against the big boys. If I can compete against them, we'll see where the journey takes us."