Norfolk professional Will Harrold believes his best is yet to come as he prepares for life as a PGA Asian Tour rookie.

Harrold had been playing on its development circuit, the ADT Tour. But in December the Sheringham Golf Club member earned his Asian Tour card by clinching second spot in the Aramco Invitational.

The performance lifted him to an overall fourth-place finish on the 2023 ADT Tour, from which the top 10 secured a promotion.

He is now all set to start off the new season by teeing up in next week’s Malaysian Open (February 15-18) before heading on to the star-studded $2m International Series Oman.

The tournaments mark the start of an exciting new era for Harrold, whose previous career highlights include a 2014 European Challenge Tour success in Belgium.

Harrold, 35, said: “Continuing to challenge myself mentally like I did at the end of last season is my main goal. Keep learning and exploring in my practice and tournaments – and choosing to trust my game rather than chase a perfect swing. I think that is a brilliant and realistic goal. 

“Overall my ambition is to be ready to play each week and remain fresh, trying something new and not cramming in events that don’t fit. Being a category 6 player – the top 10 from the ADT Tour in 2023 – means that I have a good tour card. But it also means that I will have some late call-ups and tricky travel, so preparing for that, mentally, is a goal of mine. It’s easy to get trapped in to feeling like you have to play at every opportunity.”

The International Series Oman field will be packed with big names, including many from the LIV Golf Tour. Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel are in an entry that also includes Mexican ace Abraham Ancer and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.

But Harrold is aware that there will be quality in every event in which he plays.

He said: “The competition is very strong – top world-ranked players every week. LIV players have spots in the International Series events. In December I was playing behind Henrik Stenson in the Saudi Open. You only have to look at the leaderboard and there’s always big names.” 

Harrold outlined how the full schedule is still to be released, but one thing is certain – he is set to clock up some air miles.

He said: “The rest of the season is plentiful but spread out – so far, anyway. Usual events are on the schedule later in the year. But there is a good amount of tournaments to be introduced to the schedule as the tour continues to grow worldwide.

“International Series Macau is three weeks after Oman. I think I will miss the New Zealand Open as logistically it’s a tough one to get to from Oman in time to prepare.

“But playing three out of the first four events is a nice start and I will have lots to take from those weeks.”

Go to www.williamharroldgolf.com for updates about his season.