Tour Pro Gary Evans recounts celebrating $46,215 win with McDonald's feast in Torremolinos

Gary Evans is quite a character in European golf. The Englishman has had a long professional career that began in 1991, but even before that, he had made headlines for his results as an amateur.

Of the many stories that Gary Evans has accumulated in his time in world golf, one very enjoyable one is that of his professional beginnings. Evans recently gave an interview to Golf Magic's Chris Bertram, in which he recalled how he celebrated his first successes as a professional.

This is how Gary Evans told it:

"My first European Tour event was the Johnnie Walker in Bangkok. The second one was Dubai Desert Classic. The trip was going to cost me £2,000 [$2,544]. I only had £2,500 [$3,180] to my name. So I laid out the £2,000. I made the cut, Johnnie Walker, and missed the cut in Dubai. Came home."

"So I still basically had my seed money, and the next trip was Malaga, Majorca, Tenerife, and it was cheaper to do a three-week trip than it was back and forth. So the first week in Malaga, I finished second to Vijay Singh, and had a course record. Won £36,333 [$46,215]."

"I celebrated on my own in Torremolinos in McDonald’s! Rang my mum and dad on a pay phone - no mobiles in those days of course. They asked me how I got on. I said, 'I've just finished second'. They were crying down the phone. I'm still not paid though. The following week I finished seventh I think. I won £54,000 [$68,688] in my first five weeks."

Gary Evans played his entire career on the European Tour (DP World Tour) and later on the Legends Tour (Senior). His career earnings total $3.9 million.

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Who is Gary Evans?

Gary Evans was born in West Sussex, England, in 1969. He began to excel in golf at a very young age and had an excellent amateur career, in which he won five tournaments. He was also called to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1991.

That same year he turned professional and won his European Tour card at the Q-School. On this circuit, he played until he abruptly retired in 2006, due to a wrist injury. However, in 2019 he resumed his career playing on the Legends Tour, where he currently remains.

Gary Evans never won on the European Tour. His results included 362 tournaments played, 219 cuts passed, and 36 Top 10s, including four third places and one second. On the Legends Tour, he has played 41 tournaments with 39 cuts made. His best results include seven Top 10s.

As for the majors, Evans played 10 editions, with six cuts made and two Top 10s as best results. In The Open Championship in 2002 he finished T5, but it was the main sporting result of his career, as he was in contention almost until the end and was only one stroke away from entering the final playoff.