A reflective Curtis Luck says that golf had him “on the verge of tears’’ on the golf course more than once over the past two years.

Luck, 24, who won his first tournament as a professional at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio last weekend, told ‘Inside The Ropes’ podcast his slow progress had been tough to take.

“Golf’s a crazy game,’’ he said. “I mean, it really drives you up the wall 95 percent of the time, probably more.

“There were definitely times in this last year or two where I’ve been on the verge of tears playing golf. It’s just so frustrating, especially when you know you’ve done things a certain way before, and you can’t do them. To be in a position where I know I’m getting closer to where I want to be but at the same time I’m not even close, to have a colossal win on a golf course, it’s huge.’’

Luck, who won the 2016 US Amateur and the WA Open before turning pro, said he had a “mindset that no one was gonna take it off me this week”, as early as the first round in Ohio.

“I felt like this year was my tournament to win,’’ the Florida-based Western Australian said.

“I shot three-under the first round and I spoke to my Dad (Stuart) that night and I said to Dad, ‘look, this is the week. I love this golf course’. I wasn’t on top of the leaderboard but I was well-placed and I said: ‘This is the week I’m gonna do it’. There’s something about this golf course that reminds me of back home.

“They’re bent (grass) greens, they’re always firm, you have to play the angles. II was surprisingly clam going into Sunday and for the most part of Sunday.’’

Meanwhile Australia’s Minjee Lee is up to No. 5 in the world, jumping three spots after finishing third in the women’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. She was as high as No. 2 in the world early in 2019.

Lee told ‘Inside The Ropes’ that Germany's Sophia Popov was a ''true inspiration" for the way she shut everyone out on the Sunday at Troon despite being ranked outside the world's top 300 players.

"She played like a major champion," said Lee. "I didn't see here making any mistakes. When it looked like she'd make a birdie, she made the putt. She kept the omentum. She played really good."

Inside The Ropes episode 178