Colm Moriarty of Team Ireland secured his place at the Challenge Tour season finale in the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final in southern Italy this week after his fourteenth place finish in Egypt last Sunday which moved him up to 42nd place in the rankings.
After 24 tournaments played across four Continents over nine months in 18 different countries, the 2010 Challenge Tour season now reaches its climax this week in southern Italy for the top 45 players on the Challenge Tour Rankings.
However there is still work to be done at San Domenico Golf in Puglia by the Glasson Golf and Country Club professional if he is to make the breakthrough to the European Tour next season as Moriarty is currently twenty five spots away from one of those top twenty places.
Some players, such as Challenge Tour Rankings leader Alvaro Velasco of Spain, have already guaranteed their places in next season’s Race to Dubai, but for many more the week will be a test of nerve as well as technique.
With €51,500 on offer to the winner of the €300,000 tournament, anyone from Scotland’s Raymond Russell to England’s Adam Gee, respectively 21st and 45th in the Rankings, can still join the Spaniard on The European Tour.
Velasco, currently top of the tree with winnings of €130,863 thanks largely to his victories at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España and the Kazakhstan Open, spoke about his experiences;
“Life on the Challenge Tour has taught me to adapt to many different courses and conditions. It’s very important for a player to be adaptable now. That’s the best thing about the Challenge Tour – it’s like a university for golf and life! I now have a very clear goal: I want to win the Challenge Tour Rankings this week. I’m in a good position to achieve it, but it’s not over yet. I know I have to play very well, as there are a lot of good players here, and they are not going to make it easy for me.
Velasco is bidding to follow Edoardo Molinari of Italy and three other Challenge Tour graduates, namely Rhys Davies of Wales and the English duo of James Morrison and John Parry are also winners on the European Tour this season - with the winner of last year’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, Scotland’s Peter Whiteford, one of nine graduates currently inside the top 115 of The Race to Dubai and on course to keep their cards.
For the sixth year running the drama will unfold at the picturesque San Domenico Golf, which is part of the European Golf Design group. Situated on the south east coast of Italy near the town of Fasano, the course lends itself to some spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea.
