'How The International Series Changed My Playing Career’ With Steve Lewton

For many professional golfers, the career path to the pinnacle of the game is somewhat linear: mini-tours, Challenge Tour, DP World Tour, PGA Tour. But for England's Steve Lewton, the journey has been anything but conventional. After losing his European Tour card back in 2011, Lewton found himself at a crossroads and, instead of trying his hand again at Q-School, he headed east to Asia and never looked back.

That decision, over a decade ago, not only reignited his playing career but fundamentally reshaped it, setting him on a journey that has now led him to the doorstep of LIV Golf via the burgeoning International Series.

“I’d played Challenge Tour, and I’d lost my card, and I just fancied a new challenge,” Lewton recalls. “And it also was a perk they're playing for more money than on the Challenge Tour. So I tried my hand out here in 2012.”

He originally went to Asia to keep his professional golf career going. Still, that decision to leave his comfort zone quickly sparked a career-defining passion for the continent, its golfing culture, and what was to become his home away from home for the foreseeable future.

“I enjoyed it so much I didn't really want to leave,” he admits. “What also drew me in was the fact that you got to see a lot of places I probably would never go, especially that first year, visiting places like India and Cambodia, just to name a couple. I'd never been anywhere in Asia and realised ‘this is totally different’.”

Immersing himself in the culture was something Lewton labels as a core part of the experience, playing on the Asian tour and the International Series. “The cultures are so different from home. The foods in particular. I quite like spice. So for me, coming out here, it was brilliant,” he says. “I think it's hard to beat Thailand, they have a lot of spice, but then they have some dishes that aren't spicy at all, but full of flavor.”

While the opportunity to travel and experience local cuisines was something Lewton relished, the biggest learning curves came on the golf course. New skillsets had to be developed due to a stark contrast in both climate and grass types from what he was used to back home in Bedfordshire.

“I'd probably actually say the climate is one of the biggest things to adapt to,” Lewton says. “It's nice now that we can play in shorts, but having two towels on your golf bags is almost mandatory, because your hands sweat so much.”

The biggest technical challenge, however, was under his feet, the difference in turf interaction and the need to adapt both equipment and the way you approach certain shots. “I remember thinking the grass was so different. There's so much grain in some countries, and we just don't have it at home. So it's like learning new shots around the greens,” he explains. “I feel like the courses are generally a little narrower; they’re not quite as long as courses, say, in Europe, but you certainly get a little more reward for hitting the fairways out here.”

Having to learn and develop new skills, both technically and physically, dealing with the heat and humidity, not only enhanced Lewton’s ability to play on different course types but forged a more consistent overall game.

After claiming his first victory in Asia at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in 2014, Lewton firmly established himself as a stalwart on the Asian Tour, but the recent inception of the International Series, with its ties to LIV Golf, presented a new and exciting prospect for all of those playing both on the Asian Tour and on LIV Golf.

Suddenly, the tour Lewton had called home for a decade was infused with world-class talent and elevated stakes. While some may crumble under the new spotlight of the International Series, Lewton relishes the prospect of teeing it up alongside some of the best players in the world and could only complement what this new pathway could offer to up-and-coming professionals looking to forge their game in Asia.

While naturally these tournaments are attracting some of the best talent in Asia, they are also turning the heads of promising professionals across the US, such as James Piot, Ollie Schniederjans, and MJ Maguire, as well as former Latin America Amateur Champion - Santiago De La Fuente, who are all travelling outside of their comfort zone to test their game on an elite global stage.

“I feel like now with the international series, I would say the field strength has gone up dramatically, which is a great thing, because you want to play with these good guys,” Lewton notes. “You want to see how your game correlates and compares. The biggest learning curve you can get is by playing with someone like DJ or Patrick Reed, or Oosthuizen, to name a few. It does open your eyes a little bit.”

While playing professional sport requires a level of self-confidence, regardless of what level you are playing at, competing alongside some of the biggest names in the sport only proved that Lewton's game, hardened by years of playing in these tricky conditions, belonged on the main stage.

Grinding away at a game that results in far more losses than wins can often take its toll mentally, but Lewton’s resiliency paid dividends last year, landing a victory in Indonesia on the Asian Tour. It was a win that was both dramatic and deeply validating, clinching the win on the second playoff hole.

“It was a long time coming, because it'd been 10 years on this tour since I'd won. So for me, it was massive,” he says.

The win didn't come easily and tested Lewton’s mental strength. After he double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff, a moment that could have shattered his confidence, he gathered his composure and understood there was still a task at hand. “I was just kind of thankful, like I've messed up, but I'm still in a playoff,” he recalls. "Then up the second extra hole, I got a bit lucky off the tee, but hit a good iron shot to eight feet and made it. And it was just relief, really.”

That victory has opened the door to the chance of playing on the highly contested International Series that provides a direct pathway to the LIV Golf League by topping the end-of-year Order of Merit, and Lewton is squarely focused on taking that next step.

“If I could get onto LIV, that would be…I'd be over the moon,” he states plainly. “I need to elevate my game, just maybe a little bit more, making sure my bad weeks are only 30th, and then good weeks are top 10s, and giving myself chances to win. Just raising that bar, just that little bit higher.”

And which team would he want to join? "Anyone who will have me, really!" he laughs. "I wouldn't be too fussy to be honest."

While the thought of travelling far and wide, overseas, particularly at the start of a professional golfing journey, may seem intimidating, Lewton’s journey is a testament to the value of sometimes taking the road less travelled and the incredible opportunity that can arise from it.

“My biggest advice would be, don't be afraid, because it's so different to home,” he urges. “The food's absolutely fine. Like every week, there's always something you can find to eat. And if you really want to stick to Western, you could, but I'd probably advise against it, because you're missing out.”

He points to stars like Anirban Lahiri and Kiradech Aphibarnrat as proof. “They all started out on the Asian tour and then went on to really big things.”

What looked like a career gamble, heading to Asia over a decade ago, turned out to be the very making of Steve Lewton's career. It was far from a detour; it was a transformative journey that taught him how to adapt, how to win, and ultimately, how to compete against the game's elite, all thanks to the world-class opportunities presented by the Asian Tour and the International Series.