Cockerill spends 2024 making the cut

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This article was published 02/12/2024 (618 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Aaron Cockerill didn’t have to search long and hard to find positives when asked to assess his just-completed 2024 golf season on the DP World Tour.

One of Manitoba’s touring golf professionals is coming off the best year of his career, eclipsing $1.3 million (Canadian) in earnings while making the cut in 19 of 27 tournaments he participated in.

“The two goals are always to win and to make it to the DP World Tour Championship, so I got one of the two this year,” Cockerill said in a telephone interview from Abu Dhabi, where he has relocated with his wife Chelsea and his daughter Addison. “Overall, I was very consistent throughout the year. No crazy high finishes, my best finish was a fourth (at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic), but a lot of consistency, which I was proud of. Lots of Top-25’s, which probably doesn’t sound that impressive, but it’s a lot of consistent golf.

“The difference between a 20th and a 10th and a fifth is pretty small, honestly. So, if I keep putting myself in position and keep doing that more and more next year, hopefully the win is coming.”

Cockerill, 32, had another strong season with his putter and felt he was able to take some strides when it comes to his ball striking with his irons.

“Something I’m trying to improve is that approach play. It was definitely a bit better this year,” said Cockerill, who had just over $700,000 (Canadian) in earnings in 2023. “In terms of my own stats and breaking it down by categories with (coach and fellow Manitoban) Derek Ingram, on my weeks that I was on, I was hitting it a little closer to the hole and I was making a few more birdies.

“That’s something we had talked about. When you’re playing well, you’ve got to make the most of it. You’ve got to take slightly more aggressive lines when you’re playing well. I’ve always been a pretty good putter. Tee balls come and go, but the irons this year were a little bit better when I was on.”

During the 2023 season, Cockerill was oh-so-close to achieving the second of the two goals, losing in a playoff in the ISPS Handa — Championship in Japan to Lucas Herbert on the second extra hole.

That was a big-time learning experience, one which he applied on numerous occasions during what was his fifth full season on what is considered to be the best tour outside of the PGA Tour.

There’s a comfort level that comes with being more familiar with the courses he’s playing, but also the competition he’s going head-to-head against — even when those highly-competitive fields include the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.

“Yeah. Now that I’ve started to have some of those pairings the odd time and play with some of the bigger names and see them quite often,” said Cockerill, who had four Top-10 finishes in 2024. “When I first came out on the DP Tour, Rory was there at one of the events and I didn’t want to go beside him on the range. I was shying away and stuff like that. Now I get to see and play with those guys a decent amount. I got to play with Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday at Wentworth Golf Club (for the BMW PGA Championship).

“There were probably six people deep in the gallery for the entire day. So that was a great experience.”

It’s the type of experience that’s good for the confidence — and reinforcing that the work he’s been putting in since turning pro in 2015 is paying off.

“To play with those guys and realize there’s probably not that much of a difference, they’re probably just a little more consistent than I am,” said Cockerill. “That’s encouraging to see and it makes you want to work a little bit harder than you already are and get to those guys’ level.”

Among the highlights for Cockerill was an ace in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the second last event of the season.

“I pulled it a bit. It was a nine iron, from 157 yards with a back left pin. I was trying to go a little bit right of the pin, but the wind was off the right and it pushed it in there perfectly,” said Cockerill. “It was cool to see the video, it kind of hoofed in from the left side. You didn’t win a car on that hole. There was a car available on the next par-3 on the back nine. I picked the wrong one, but I’ll still take it.”

An added benefit was that Cockerill’s parents and wife Chelsea were in the gallery behind the green for the exciting ace.

“That was fun,” said Cockerill. “With the sun the way that it was, I actually didn’t see the ball go in, but I heard them yell and that confirmed that it was in. Chelsea was always been giving me grief that she wants to see a hole-in-one in person and that was the first one that she’s actually seen in person — and I’ve had 12. It was good timing.”

Speaking of good timing, the full-time move to Dubai and the transition to being a first-time father has been enjoyable for Cockerill.

“With a baby (that turns two in February) and moving, there’s been lots of change in the last little while. But now we’re slowly getting used to those things and it’s been a positive effect,” said Cockerill. “With the direct flights everywhere, there’s not as much jet lag and I’m not shovelling snow and hitting balls in the garage and trying to go and play against the boys the next day, it’s been helpful and that’s been part of the successful season that I’ve had.”

Although he only had a bit of time to catch his breath, Cockerill is heading back out on the road this week to compete in a pair of tournaments in South Africa to begin the 2025 DP World Tour season before returning to Manitoba for the holiday season.

Cockerill’s plan is to compete in around 25 DP World Tour events, plus the two playoff tournaments.

He’s is also hoping to be able to compete in a third consecutive RBC Canadian Open, which will be played at TPC Osprey Valley near Toronto next June.

“The schedule looks pretty similar,” said Cockerill. “I’ll probably try and play a similar number of events, if I can, a few less. I’m going to take a bit more of a break this summer — my seven-day off-season came and went pretty quickly this year. It’s crazy.

“We finished the Tour championship and I looked on Thursday and there was an event happening in Australia, I thought I was losing my mind a little bit. I’ve built in the off-season in August next summer. I think we’ll be in Winnipeg for six weeks or something like that, which is a perfect time to be there anyways. So, I’ll look forward to that.”

Cockerill is also looking forward to his continued pursuit of that first DP World Tour victory.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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