In summary

  • Curtis Luck has played just 16 events in the past 24 months after a separated AC joint and ongoing osteolysis in his shoulder hampered his 2025 and 2026 seasons.
  • Despite not being at his physical best, Luck has missed only one cut in those 16 starts, with half resulting in top-10 finishes.
  • Luck opened his PGA Tour of Australasia campaign with a tie for third at the WA PGA Championship and a tie for 14th at the WA Open, building towards the Australian PGA and Open with hopes of reaching the DP World Tour in 2027.

Curtis Luck still doesn’t know how he suffered the separated AC joint which kept him off the golf course for much of 2025.

Ongoing issues working out how to properly manage osteolysis in his shoulder also hampered his 2026 season.

Since he finished second at the 2024 Australian Open, showcasing the talent which helped him win the US Amateur Championship in 2016, Luck has only played 16 events.

His results in those events compound the frustration of the now 29-year-old, who should be hitting the peak of his powers having enjoyed almost a decade without any injuries.

In the 16 events Luck has played over the past 24 months he’s only missed one cut, at the 2025 Open, a start earned via his runner-up finish to Ryggs Johnston at a soggy Kingston Heath.

Half of his starts have resulted in top-10 finishes and another three have been top-25. Luck has only finished outside the top 30 three times, and his worst result has been a tie for 48th.

Those are results achieved despite not being at his absolute physical best, a situation which kept him in Australia during the winter after he decided not to take advantage of medical exemptions to get starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Curtis Luck wants to get back to Europe. Pic: Getty.

Luck also opted to skip DP World Tour qualifying school, which is happening now, not confident he could “excel” in the areas he needs to in order to perform his best.

But choosing to stay at home in Perth and work out the proper management plans for his shoulder issues, which included staying away from the paddle ball court, is bearing early fruit.

Luck opened his PGA Tour of Australasia campaign with a tie for third at the WA PGA Championship and backed that up with a tie for 14th at the WA Open.

So it’s with optimism Luck hits this week’s NSW Open at the Vintage Club in the Hunter Valley, building to the sort of form he hopes will allow him to contest the Australian PGA and Open and start “moving things forward in a really positive direction”, with hopes of making his way to the DP World Tour in 2027.

“I have a bit of osteolysis in a couple of areas of my shoulder, bones just not doing particularly well,” he told Golf Australia Magazine before travelling to the Hunter Valley this week.

“I’d been rehabbing a separated AC joint injury which happened in like May last year and usually you wouldn’t have very long-term ongoing issues with that, but for some reason things have sort of come back to bite me in the bum a year later.

“It has been frustrating, because it has come at a time in my life where there were definitely a few things that I wanted to get on top of in my golf, and maybe make some changes where I felt it was needed in my golf swing and golf game to be a better player and compete at that elite level.

“Having these injuries sort of put a halt to a lot of things.

“I’ve not played an extremely large amount of golf over the last couple of years and also haven’t really had the time up my sleeve to make and address those changes that I would have liked to make. So, yeah, I feel like a lot has just been put on pause.

“I started playing again a few weeks before the WA events and played not too bad. A little rusty, lots of bad ones in amongst some good ones. But not too bad overall.”

The process of getting back has involved a few missteps. Certain elements of physiotherapy only made things worse and while “surgical intervention” could help, it wasn’t a path Luck was prepared to go down.

But being home in Perth, after a long time spent living and playing in the US, has helped create a comfort with his situation and created a clearer path forward.

Nothing has changed in terms of Luck’s belief in his ability, but the last two years have helped create a new perspective about where that ability could take him.

“I’ve always had a pretty strong belief in what I’m capable of. I just need to put myself back in that position to take advantage of it,” he said.

“I’ve moved back to Australia. I’m living in Perth. I would love to set up playing in Europe, because I can live here and travel there playing.

“I thought about going back to the US and playing on my medical (exemption) at points in time over the last year or so, but ultimately, I’m happier living here, like in my own personal life in Australia.

“The idea is to get into a position where my golf is where I believe it should be and get European tour status and work and chip away over there and yeah, see what can happen.”

The path to Europe and the DP World Tour exists via the Australian summer, a carrot Luck said he didn’t think about too much.

He didn’t even think about it during the final rounds at the 2024 Australian Open, so when an official from the R&A congratulated him on making the field for the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush, Luck was legitimately surprised.

“When I’m out there playing and I’m in like a competitive mind, the only thing I’m worried about is winning and none of the other stuff really even pops into my mind,” he said.

The immediate focus for Luck is instead narrower, particularly given where he’s coming from.

“Get some good results yes, but ultimately just to start moving better and hitting the ball a bit better over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“I’ve always looked at the two big Aussie events (PGA and Open). They’re the thing I want to get ready for at the end of the year.

“Fortunately this year I would say, even though I haven’t been playing a lot up until the last month or so, I would say that things are probably a bit more of a smooth ride heading into them than they were the last few years.

“No great expectations, I just know that if things are in a realm where that should be, I can compete at that level.”