Josh Berry is a man on a mission.
That mission is to become a world champion golfer .... and he’s well on his way!
With a lot of talent, and a little bit of help from UK Energi and a few other sponsors, Josh has just bagged himself a Champion’s trophy at the Hotel Planner Kolkata Challenge at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in West Bengal, India.
Josh’s professional journey started when he was just 11 years old and it happened at the UK’s home of cricket – St Andrews.
Travelling from Doncaster to the Aberdeen, young Master Berry was sure he could hold his own against any of his contemporaries and, when he was victorious at the Wee Wonder’s competition at that iconic gold course, everyone knew he was a force to be reckoned with.
So much so, he was invited to the states to take part in the Junior World Championships in Pinehurst – the Home of American Golf.
Josh says that he can’t remember much about the trip, but as he was still in Primary school at the time it was probably a bit hectic!
Well, just over 8 years later, Josh is making more memories by becoming the DP World Tour’s youngest card holder and bagging a huge win in the Kolkata Challenge!
Josh’s Journey To Calcutta
Josh’s first DP World Tour was at the start of last year at the Qatar Masters and he told Golf Monthly at the time:
“It’s been a whirlwind few months to put it lightly. It was like a dream. I’d just had this huge moment of gaining my Tour card and securing my future and people were coming up to me and saying, ‘Do you want to start thinking about South Africa next week. I didn’t even have time to go back and properly celebrate with my family. Three days later, I was on a flight to Johannesburg but I wouldn’t change it for the world!'
The only other person to secure a DP Tour card who's been younger than Josh was Rory McIlroy in 2008, so Josh is in great company.
It didn’t always go as smoothly as this week for him though, while he was at qualifying school he found himself standing on a sodden course during the first stage at Donnington Grove thinking:
‘…. (I’ve) spent all this money coming down to London only to get a bad draw and get shafted by the weather’.
But, like the fighter he is, he put in a cracking final round and flew into round 2 on a high. finishing second to qualify for the final stages at Infinitum in Spain!
That meant playing against much more experience players over six rounds of the highest calibre golf.
Josh remembers:
“It was a lot to take in when you arrived and someone like Kiradech Aphibarnrat is just warming up next to you, but that’s what I was there for, to see how my game stacked up against them and take in as much as I could from the week.”
It stacked up just fine!
Josh was ranked 560th in the men's World Golf Amateur Ranking at the start of the week and showed himself to be a calm and consistent player, with his worst round of the week being a pretty impressive 71.
Overall, he finished the week 15-under and bagged that all important card.
Getting a tour card doesn’t mean you automatically become the next Nick Faldo though, the UK’s golf programmes are churning out a raft of amazing sports people so competition is stiff.
Josh struggled to get any placings after his impressive performances:
“At first it’s quite hard to take - you think you’ve got your card and all these opportunities but it’s not quite that simple,” he said. “But you have to accept it. I’ll get my opportunities like I have this week and now I have to let my golf do the talking.”
That’s exactly what he did, earning his card for 2025 with a final round of 63 on the Hills Course at Infinitum.
Now he’s playing on the Hotel Planner Tour and making headlines with wins like the one we are all so proud of him for - shooting a 10-under-par course record in the second round of the Kolkata Challenge at Royal Calcutta Golf Club!
Everyone at UK Energi will be glued to the telly as Josh continues his rise through the ranks on the rest of the Hotel Planner Tour – and we wish him the very best of luck!
If you want to know more about Josh’s incredible journey, Making the Cut is a documentary made in partnership with Travis Mathew and it follows his rookie season on the DP World Tour in 2024.
