Sim finds form on his birthday
Michael Sim turned 30 yesterday, but he had a better reason to celebrate than that.
The former WA junior shot a six-under par 66 to put himself near the top of the Perth International leaderboard.
It was a significant step forward.
Sim has ridden a rollercoaster since cracking the world's top 50 in 2010.
More correctly, the rollercoaster has been riding him.
His has been a tale of injury, poor form and disillusionment.
Now, with no status on either of the United States golf tours, he has rekindled his hunger, rejoined his original coach, Joondalup's David Milne, and returned to live in Australia on the Gold Coast.
Re-establishment on the US tours is still a distance away, but yesterday Sim showed he was moving in the right direction.
"I am just going to play the Australian summer here and take each day as it comes, try and shoot scores like I did today and get confidence that way," he said.
He believes a top-10 finish here is a realistic goal after top-six finishes at the recent China Masters and Fiji International.
More importantly, he believes his game is somewhere near where it needs to be.
"The body is good, the mind is in a good place," Sim said.
Those are significant statements from Sim.
A stress fracture in his back wrecked his first assault on the US PGA Tour and significant shoulder injuries have hampered him since.
In 2012 and 2013, saddled with injury and poor form, Sim contemplated quitting.
"I took a step back and just enjoyed life for a bit, just did what I wanted to do," he said.
That included a return to Perth, and a holiday in America where he spent three days hiking in and around the Grand Canyon.
"It got to the point where golf was such a big part of my life and I still felt like I had a lot more to achieve in the sport," he said.
After unsuccessful stints with a series of coaches in America, Sim again put his faith in Milne.
"I don't think I was in the right mental space with other coaches," he said.
"I have been with David since I was probably about 10-years-old. He knows my swing and my habits probably better than myself.
"I was up in the top 50 in the world. I know what it takes to get there and right now my game is not that far away.
"But until you win on the PGA main tour you are not safe.
"It is a game where you really have to prove yourself each year. It is not like you can get a three-year contract like in the AFL or something like that.
"If you don't win a golf tournament you have to prove yourself year after year."
