RICHARD Mansell claimed a share of the first-round lead at the Challenge Tour Grand Final after posting a five-under par round of 66 – despite having not played a practice round at T-Golf & Country Club.

The Staffordshire golfer only arrived in Mallorca on the eve of the tournament, having been in isolation following a positive Covid-19 test.

But the EuroPro Tour graduate showed no signs of rust as he joined Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren and Spain’s Santiago Tarrio at the top of the leaderboard.

Mansell, who is currently third on the Road to Mallorca rankings, admitted he could not have expected a better outcome after playing the course for the first time.

“I just really tried to control my golf ball,” Richard said. “I just tried to keep it below the hole all day.

“I had an awful warm-up. I was saying to a couple of guys, I have never been so nervous on the first tee.

“I didn’t think I was going to keep it on the golf course. But I hit a great drive – birdied the first, birdied the second and thought ‘oh, hang on’.

“I’ve still got three rounds to go,” said Mansell, who graduated from Nova Southeastern Florida University, where he played on the same national championship winning team as Surrey’s Ben Taylor, who is now playing on the PGA Tour in America.

The Sharks graduate, who is a member at Cannock’s Beau Desert GC, added: “I came into this week and I haven’t been able to do anything.

“But what I have done is tried to learn the course as much as I can in my hotel room, and just tried to do what I could, and trust that was enough.

“I’ve played enough rounds of golf to let me golfing ability take over instead of just trying to force it,” said Mansell.

“I really enjoyed it out there and it was good to have my caddie back and be out of the hotel room,” said 25-year-old Mansell, who won the Cobra Puma Championship last summer.

The course at T-Golf & Country Club is firm after a sustained period of warm weather.

And with high temperatures expected for the rest of the week, Mansell expects the greens to become harder and faster as the week goes on.

“The greens are firm and I think they’re just going to get firmer as the week goes on,” he said.

“I was in the last group out. I had a couple of putts towards the end that definitely ran out a little bit more.

“I was up by the green when Marcel Schneider hit a shot in and I heard it land and it was like it landed on concrete.

He added: “I think they’re just going to get more baked out as the week goes on, which emphasises having good ball control which tends to be my game.”

Mansell, Hellgren, who carded two eagles on his way to his five-under par 66, and Tarrio lead by one stroke.

The Englishman was runner-up on the 2019 EuroPro Order of Merit, after the Race to Desert Springs Tour Championship a year ago, earning one of five cards on the Challenge Tour.

Lancashire’s former European Boys champion Matthew Baldwin, Italian Enrico Di Nitto, American Tyler Koivisto and Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard MøllerEnrico Di Nitto, American Tyler Koivisto and Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard Møller are tied in fourth place on four-under.

Kent’s Road to Mallorca No. 4 Matt Ford, Sweden’s Christofer Blomstrand and Germany’s Alexander Knappe are a shot further back in a tie for eighth place on three-under.

The second round of the Challenge Tour Grand Final will begin at 8.30am Spanish on Friday, with the leading trio playing in the final group at 11.05am.

•Click here for second round scoring.

The post Mansell roars into lead at Challenge Tour Grand Final despite the lack of practice appeared first on Golf North.

Sami Valimaki became the third Finn to win on the European Tour after his dramatic play-off win over Brandon Stone, to claim the Oman Open at Al Mouj. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

SAMI Valimaki won his first European Tour title as he defeated Brandon Stone in a play-off to lift the trophy at the 2020 Oman Open.

Just six months ago the unknown Finn was playing at the third tier of professional golf in Continental Europe – now he has a winner’s exemption on the European Tour until the end of 2022.

A delighted Valimaki, who joins Mikko Illonen and Mikko Korhonnen as Finnish winners on the European Tour, said: “It’s awesome. There are not many words to say, it’s unbelievable.

“After the ninth hole when I made a double I knew that the 10th hole is good and I had to make a birdie on that,” said Sami Valimaki.

“I didn’t make a really good par on 11 and after that bogey I felt like, ‘okay this is gone’. But then I just grinded, made three birdies and on the last – an awesome birdie.

“I just needed to hit the fairways and the greens, it doesn’t matter how long you leave yourself, but you have to be on the green and get the chance to make the putt.

“I am feeling relaxed because I managed to get the birdies and gave myself that opportunity to win.

“I thought I was going to miss the putt on the last in regulation it but thank god it went to the hole and gave me the chance to win the tournament.

“It is great that more Finnish golfers are doing well in the sport and golf is getting more popular there in Finland.”

Valimaki had a stunning 2019 on the Pro Golf Tour, winning four times including three consecutive starts at the end of the season.

The 21-year-old claimed his card at November’s Qualifying School in Spain, and after securing a first top 10 the ISPS Handa Vic Open, he is now a winner in just his sixth European Tour event.

The Finn was outside the top 100 after day one at Al Mouj Golf. But a stunning 64 in round three put him alongside Stone in a six-way tie for the lead with 18 holes to play.

In difficult, breezy conditions by the coast, both Stone and Valimaki had held the lead on their own during the final day.

But it was Adrien Saddier who set the clubhouse target at 12-under, and the Frenchman calmly headed to the range to await the final groups completing their rounds.

But Stone put paid to Saddier’s hopes of a first win by getting to 13–under celebrating wildly as he holed a 20-footer on the last.

And there was more drama to come as Valimaki holed from similar range for his own closing birdie and a round of 70 to take the contest to extra holes – despite that double at the turn.

The duo halved the last in pars twice – but when Stone sent his second shot crashing into the stand on the third trip, and failed to get up and down, a par was enough to hand Valimaki victory.

Stone search for win No. 4 goes on

STONE was taking positives from the result despite losing his first play-off and coming up short in his bid for a fourth European title since the start of 2016.

He had spoken earlier in the week about how happy he was with work the South African, and his support team, had undertaken since last year to take his game to the next level.

“Obviously I’m a little disappointed but I’m really proud with how I played over the last four days,” said Stone – one of just 15 players to have won a Rolex Series event, thanks to his 2018 Scottish Open win.

“It feels like I’m closer again,” said Stone. “My confidence and swing are starting to come back.

“I’m feeling really comfortable and unfortunately, I came up a little shy, but the best thing about our job is I get to try again on Thursday,” added Stone, who finished sixth at the 2015 Challenge Tour Grand Final at Al Mouj Golf, to earn his graduation to the European Tour.

“We’re professional sportsmen and full of emotion which showed with my putt on the 18th in regulation.

“I knew I needed to hole that to give myself a sniff. I managed to get it done. We leave it all out on the line – a lot of time and effort goes into this.”

Italian Guido Migliozzi and Korhonen finished at 11-under, two shots clear of Spaniard Alejandro Cañizares, South African George Coetzee, Danish teenager Rasmus Højgaard and Wiltshire’s Jordan Smith.

•For final results in the Oman Open click here.

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Californian John Catlin flew to Spain fresh from his Asian Tour win in Thailand in his bid to win a full European Tour card. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

AMERICAN John Catlin carded a flawless six-under par 65 to charge into an early lead at European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage, at Spain’s Lumine Golf Club.

Catlin came into the event less than a week after securing his fourth Asian Tour victory, in Thailand, and continued in the same form.

He recorded six birdies and 12 pars on the Lakes Course as he looks to secure an immediate return to the European Tour, having earned starts in 2019 via the Asian Order of Merit.

Catlin said: “It’s only one of six rounds and it’s definitely a nice way to start but there’s still a long way to go.

“I remember liking this track at last year’s event and the Hills was the course I definitely struggled on, so to come out and take full advantage of that was a good way to start.

“Winning my fourth title on the Asian Tour and to win in Thailand where I’ve been living for the past three years was a great feeling.

“I know if I can take care of what I can take care of then I’ve got every chance of contending and I’ve given myself the best chance possible.

“It’s been absolutely fantastic to compete in Europe. It’s made me a better golfer for sure.

“You can see the difference coming from the Asian Tour to the European Tour, which is the next step up and the margin of error is just that much smaller.”

The 29-year-old Californian admitted he relished the opportunity to compete in Europe for the first time this season.

His best finish was a tie for 12th at the Made in Denmark but knows there is still a long way to go before he seals his 2020 playing rights in the six-round contest in Tarragona.

Catlin will begin the second round with a one-shot advantage over a group of six players on five-under.

It includes 2018 Final Stage joint-champion Alejandro Cañizares, Dane Benjamin Poke, Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Finland’s Sami Valimaki, Sussex’s Toby Tree and Italian Lorenzo Scalise.

Poke, who finished 29th on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca last week, said: “It’s always nice to get off to a good start.

“It’s my first time at Final Stage and I’ve heard from some of the other guys, especially some of the Danes, how long a week it is.

“As always, tournaments are not won on day one but I’m certainly very happy to get off to a good start,” said the 28-year-old. “Hopefully I can continue in the same mindset.

“Coming from the Nordic Golf League last year and playing in Category 13 on the Challenge Tour, I felt like I had a good season by making it to the Grand Final.

“And from hereon in, everything I do this week is just a bonus. It’s quite a nice place to be, I think, and obviously you’re still trying to do as well as you can.

“The nerves are still going to be there because it means something to you,” added Poke.

“My goal is to take every day at a time and every shot at a time – it’s a cliché but that’s the thing.”

Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, who played the Challenge Tour after turning pro in 2004, but lost his European Tour card in 2013, said: “I haven’t been playing anymore, I’ve just been teaching golf.

“I went to First Stage just for fun and I made it to Second Stage – and now I’m here, so I’m back playing.

“I love playing golf. I played poorly at the end of my career so it was tough for me to play golf, and I didn’t even want to think about playing golf even with my friends.

“I wasn’t enjoying it very much but I haven’t played for a year or so, and I’m enjoying it much more, so that’s why I’m here, to have fun.”

Meanwhile France’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist, who narrowly missed out on his European Tour card after finishing 16th at the Challenge Tour Grand Final last week, is a shot back on four-under.

Sciot-Siegrist, who missed out on a European Tour card by just one spot on the Road to Mallorca rankings, said: “I’m really happy with what I did at the Challenge Tour Grand Final.

“I believe that for me, missing the top 15 was not a matter of how I played last week, it was other moments during the year. Last week was my best result of the year.

“Obviously I finished 16th, it was hard to swallow, two years ago I finished 17th – so it’s getting there. I’m improving every year.

“I’m playing this course that I know pretty well, so I just have to continue the way I have been, because it works.”

Sciot-Siegrist was joined on that mark by Germany’s Hurly Long and Italian Aron Zemmer, who won the European Tour Qualifying School Second Stage event at Club de Golf Bonmont, last weekend.

Nine years ago Frenchman Gregory Havret finished runner-up to Graeme McDowell at the US Open at Pebble Beach.

But after finishing 28th on the Road to Mallorca, 42-year-old Havret said after his first round: “It’s been a busy year since the Challenge Tour season began in Turkey.

The post Catlin arrives from Thailand with fourth win but really wants to graduate at Lumine appeared first on Golf North.

Italy’s Francesco Laporta followed up his win at the Hainan Open with a wire-to-wire victory at the Challenge Tour Grand Final, in Mallorca. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Laporta secured a wire-to-wire victory at the Challenge Tour Grand Final at Mallorca’s Club de Golf Alcanada.

And in doing so finished the season as the 2019 Road to Mallorca No. 1, overtaking Scotland’s Calum Hill, who could not add to his two previous Challenge Tour wins in 2019.

The Italian battled testing conditions, which delayed the start of the final round and caused a suspension in the morning, to post a closing level-par 71.

His six-under total was good enough to win the Grand Final by two strokes from Germany’s Sebastian Heisele and Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist, who shared second place on four-under.

But Heisele made a putt for birdie at the last which would have handed Sciot-Siegrist solo second if he had missed – and the points to move the latter into the top 15 players,

Sciot Siegrist missed out on a European Tour card for 2020 by €1,419 in the end.

But it was Laporta’s second win in his last three starts after his victory at China’s Hainan Open last month.

Laporta joins the Challenge Tour Roll of Honour as Road to Mallorca No. 1, finishing more than 50,000 points ahead of Hill, who could only finish in a share of 27th, some 13 shots behind the champion.

Hampshire’s Richard Bland secured a return to the European Tour at the first time of asking by finishing third in the Road to Mallorca rankings, with Heisele’s tie for second place moving him up to fourth.

The 46-year-old Stoneham member – who earned promotion to the European Tour after his Challenge Tour Grand Final win in Bordeaux 18 years ago – will be looking to finally break his duck after more than 500 appearances without a maiden win at the top tier.

Adrian Meronk will become the first-ever Polish player to have full European Tour playing privileges in 2020 after finishing fifth on the rankings, while Lancashire’s Jack Senior and Robin Roussel finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Early season wins at the Challenge de España and Prague Golf Challenge earned Antoine Rozner eighth place.

Graduation was secured by Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan in his rookie season by finishing ninth, while Portugal’s Ricardo Santos, Northern Ireland’s Cormac Sharvin and Wales’ Oliver Farr finished in the next three spots.

Holland’s Rolex Trophy winner Darius van Driel and Scot Connor Syme, who won the season-opener at the Turkish Airlines Challenge, cemented spots 13 and 14.

Spaniard Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez earned the final European Tour card by finishing in 15th position.

It was a nail-biting end to the day for the Spaniard, who posted rounds of 76 and 77 over the weekend.

Garcia-Rodriguez was forced to watch as Sciot-Siegrist missed a birdie putt on the final hole, before seeing Heisele get down safely for par in the final group of the day.

Had the German missed, Sciot-Siegrist would have finished solo second behind Laporta and leapfrogged Garcia-Rodriguez into the final graduation spot.

The Frenchman was only 1,369 points behind Garcia Rodriguez and he was followed by Ben Stow and Wil Besseling, who finished 17th and 18th respectively.

The first European Tour events the Class of 2019 will be eligible to play in will be the Hong Kong Open and the Alfred Dunhill Championship, which both take place from November 28-December 1.

•The third and final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School will take place at Lumine, in Spain, later this week, when another 25 cards will be up for grabs.

To see the results from stage two – play at Alenda Golf and Club de Golf Bonmont was distrupted over the weekend – click here.

The players who finished in the top 15 in the Road to Mallorca rankings who earned a European Tour card for 2020. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

The post Laporta opens the door to European Tour debut with Challenge Tour Grand Final appeared first on Golf North.

Italy’s Francesco Laporta held on to his one-shot lead at the Challenge Tour Grand Final at Mallorca’s Alcanada Golf Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Laporta held on to his narrow lead at the halfway stage of the Challenge Tour Grand Final, at Mallorca’s Club de Golf Alcanada.

And the Italian is in pole position to be crowned Road to Mallorca No. 1 after a two-under par second round of 69 left him in pole position with two rounds to play.

Laporte’s round moved him to five-under in total, one stroke clear of Spain’s Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez and two ahead of Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist.

But Surrey’s Ross McGowan posted a bogey-free 66 to move into sixth with a further move up the leaderboard in his sights on Saturday.

McGowan who won the 2009 Madrid Open on the European Tour and has three more wins on the Challenge Tour to his name, said: “The greens were slower today.

“The wind was probably a bit stronger yesterday and the greens were quicker. I think I had four three-putts and really struggled on them.

“Today, I putted a lot better,” said the Banstead GC member who lost his card on the European Tour back in 2011, but won the D+D REAL Czech Challenge in May.

“The wind was still up pretty early doors. I had to hit three-wood into the first after a good drive, whereas yesterday we had pretty calm conditions during the first few holes,” said McGowan.

“The wind was going in a different direction today and it made a few holes on the back nine a little bit easier.

“I think 13 and 14, which were really tough yesterday, were easier today because we could hit irons in there – and it was much more favourable.

“I need two more of the same over the weekend and I’ll take that right now,” McGowan added.

“I think I’ve just got to carry on what I was doing today. I had much more focus and with the greens, I was seeing the speed a lot better.”

The low round of the day – and the week so far – belonged to Somerset’s Laurie Canter, who bounced back from an opening round of 80 with a 65.

After 36 holes on the Balearic island, current projections show the top 15 – who will earn a European Tour card for 2020 come Sunday – would be unchanged if the tournament were to have end this afternoon.

Darius van Driel is still clinging onto the last card, but several players have given themselves a shot of glory with two rounds remaining over the weekend on the Spanish holiday island.

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson is the man best-placed to break into the graduation spots.

The Glasgow Walker Cup player’s second consecutive level par round of 71 moved him into a tie for seventh place heading into the weekend – and 16th on the Road to Mallorca rankings, just 4,854 points behind van Driel.

But Laporta, the winner of last month’s Hainan Open, in China, is the man they have to beat to earn the biggest winners’ prize of the season.

Laporta, who has only missed the cut once in his last 16 events, said: “It was a bit more windy today.

“We had the wind for the entire 18 holes, whereas yesterday it came down for around five or six holes.

“It wasn’t easy – the greens were a bit slower and less firm. There were some tough pin positions and the other guys played solid, so it was a good game.

“Everyone enjoyed the round and we had a good fight. Hopefully we’ll have another good fight tomorrow.

“I’m going to practice a bit this afternoon, then I’m going to go and play PlayStation.”

Nearest challenger Garcia-Rodriguez said: “I played very solid on the front nine although the putter wasn’t working perfectly.

“But on the back nine I played lovely. I had two chip-ins, on the 13^th and 15^th and the rest of the holes I played so well,” said the Spaniard, who would love to win on home soil.

“I just stuck to the process to turn it around today. Check the wind, make a good swing – that was my key. There will be a lot of people here this weekend cheering me on, why not go for the win?”

European Tour card battle goes to to last hole

SCIOT-Siegrist knows the race to be crowned overall champion will almost certainly go to the wire, especially if the winds which were forecasted to reach 30mph on Friday, turn out stronger than the 10mph expected over the weekend.

“Anything can happen, literally. I know I’m far off in the rankings and that I need to finish top two or better,” said Sciot-Siegrist.

“But I came here this week knowing I needed to finish top two and I started to play well a couple weeks ago – and then seeing this course… I like this course.

“There are just a lot of things that tell you that something can happen, but it’s the top players on the Challenge Tour playing this week and you know it’s going to be tough… but we’ll see.

“There’s a lot of wind and the course is very tricky. I struggle on easy courses because target golf is not really something that I do very well.

“This is just the kind of course that makes you frustrated, you need to think a little bit about your shots, and then the wind comes in, it’s like a British Amateur.”

Germany’s Sebastian Heisele and Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan, who both looked to have secured their European Tour playing privileges for next year, share fourth place on two-under.

The third round at Club de Golf Alcanada will begin at 7.30am GMT, with the top three of Laporta, Garcia Rodriguez and Sciot-Siegrist making up the final group who go out at 10.05am.

•Follow live scoring by clicking here.

The post Laporta leads after blustery day at Challenge Tour Grand Final at Mallorca’s Alcanada appeared first on Golf North.

Italy’s Francesco Laporta leads the Road to Mallorca after taking the first round lead in the Challenge Tour Grand Final with a three-under par 68. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Laporta began the Challenge Tour Grand Final occupying the second position on the Road to Mallorca rankings… but now the Italian is projected to become Challenge Tour No. 1 by Sunday, after taking the first-round lead.

Laporta carded five birdies against only two bogeys to sign for a three -under par 68, which was one shot better than his nearest rivals on the difficult Club de Golf Alcanada layout.

“It was a tough round today,” said Laporta. “The wind came up this morning, then went down and then it came up again during the last couple of holes.

“I played solid and only missed a couple of putts on the first two holes, but after that the putter worked better.

“I’m pretty happy about my round and we’ll just have to see what happens in the next few days.

“The No. 1 spot is in my mind, for sure. I came here to fight for the first spot and I will fight all week for that.

“It’s a good start and hopefully I have another one tomorrow.”

Laporta’s strong start continues an impressive run of form for the 29-year-old, who recently finished as the low-Italian at the European Tour’s Italian Open, a Rolex Series event, before winning the Hainan Open the following week.

Laporta holds a one-stroke advantage over home-favourite Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez and Welshman Rhys Enoch, who each carded rounds of 70.

Now the Challenge Tour Grand Final is under way, the projected Road to Mallorca rankings come into focus – with the leading 15 players on the season-long points race earning European Tour cards at the end of the week.

While Garcia-Rodriguez began the tournament positioned 13^th on the order of merit, Enoch teed it up outside of the coveted cut off in 25th.

But the winner of the D+D Real Slovakia Challenge in July, who currently sits in a two-way tie for second place, is now projected to climb inside the magic number – and finish the year in 13^th.

Enoch, who hailed from Cornwall, but now lives in Cardiff, said: “It was very tricky. I don’t think we realised how tricky it was going to be.

“I think the wind was quite calm earlier and I thought the scoring was going to be low.

“It’s just easy to drop shots, really, really easy. I did that really well today – keeping the bogeys off the card – with only one drop,” said a happy Enoch.

“So it was just about patience and missing in the right spots, especially with how sloped the greens are.

“The wind on the front nine was all over the place. I’m really pleased.

“There are plenty of different outcomes, but I’m focused on winning really.

“Second would probably be enough if I’m on my own, but then I’m relying on a lot of other people.

“I’ve just got to try and win because that takes care of it, so that’s my aim,” added Enoch, who became a father when Carter was born in August.

Oliver Farr, who came into the Grand Final holding the 15^th and final European Tour card, overcame a triple bogey and a double bogey to finish his round in a tie for 11^th place on one-over.

That is currently enough for the Welshman – who grew up playing golf at Kidderminster’s Cleobury Golf Club – to hold onto the final graduation spot, having lost his European Tour card in 2015 and 2018.

Farr, who is attached to Hereford’s Burghill GC, said: “There were two bad holes but 16 pretty good ones and looking at the scoring today, to only have two holes where I dropped shots today is pretty good.

“Obviously I dropped a lot of shots on those holes. It was a challenging day on the greens, but I felt like I handled them pretty well, and hopefully we can make amend for these errors tomorrow.

“Playing the practice round it was one of the first weeks where I haven’t been able to feel what a good score was,” said Farr, who played less events this season to spend more time with his family – after becoming a father for the second time in April, and following a bereavement in his family since.

“Sometimes you can sense what a good score is. People were asking me and I didn’t know. I thought the set-up was fair,” added 31-year-old Farr, winner of the Lalla Aicha Challenge Tour, in Morocco, in early October.

“There were some tough pins and that’s probably why the scoring is down, but I’m only a few shots behind and it’s early days yet, so hopefully I can push up.”

Challenge Tour Grand Final debutant Garcia-Rodriguez was happy to be playing on the Balearic island.

Sebastian said: “The golf course is amazing. The greens are very difficult.

“The key for me today was the second shot. My strategy on the tee box was to hit a lot of drivers, which set me up nicely.

“In general I’m so happy. It’s my first time playing in the Challenge Tour Grand Final and this start has made me so happy.

“I don’t feel any additional pressure. It’s the next tournament. It’s the same – the same balls, the same clubs, the same tees,” Garcia-Rodriguez added.

“The conditions are probably the best we’ve had the entire year in terms of difficulty. It’s so hard and it feels similar to the European Tour.

“My game plan has been the same for the entire year. At the start of this year I told myself I would just take it shot-by-shot.

“I played 10 tournaments on the Alps Tour at the start of the year after losing my Challenge Tour status two years ago, and this wasn’t even in my mind in January of this year.

“So for me I’m just so happy to be here.”

The second round of the Challenge Tour Grand Final begins on Friday at 7.30am GMT with Laporta, Garcia-Rodriguez and Enoch set to go at 10.05am.

•For live scoring at Club de Golf Alcanada click here.

The post Race to be Challenge Tour’s No. 1 hots up as Laporta hits the front in the Grand Final appeared first on Golf North.

Dutchman Wil Besseling is hoping for a late run at the Challenge Tour Grand Final, at Mallorca’s lub de Golf Alcanada. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

WIL Besseling goes into the Challenge Tour Grand Final with a real chance of earning a European Tour card at the end of the week.

Such an outcome would complete a drastic change in fortunes for the player ranked No. 18 on the Road to Mallorca going into the season’s climax on the Spanish island.

The Dutchman was the first man to miss out on a spot in the season-finale in 2018, finishing 46th in the rankings.

And, prior to the event, Besseling was just 359 points behind last-man-in Antoine Rozner.

However, bolstered by a tie for third place at the Hainan Open, Besseling will tee it up at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca, just two places outside the all-important top 15 with success on Sunday at the forefront of his mind.

“Being here and being in the Grand Final is nice,” said Besseling. “The Challenge Tour has done a good job in finding this place and having the Grand Final here.

“I’ve been playing decent over the last two months. I feel my game has grown and mentally I’m getting stronger so hopefully I can do well this week.

“Obviously I need a good finish here to get my card, but I’m feeling confident to actually do it, so hopefully on Sunday I’ll be able to get my card,” Besseling added.

“It’s a new course for everyone so it’s hard to think about scores, so I’m not thinking about that.

“You need to do everything well to actually win this event because everyone is playing well and everyone’s got a chance to win this week.”

The 33-year-old Dutchman was in contention for his first European Challenge Tour win in 11 years in Hainan.

But after finding the water on the penultimate hole he carded a double-bogey, that forced him to settle for a share of third place.

A tied 46th place finish in the Foshan Open ended a strong two weeks for the man from The Netherlands – during which he more than halved his Road to Mallorca ranking.

Besseling said” “I was 40th going into China so missing out again did go through my mind. But I felt good going into those events.

“The last few months have been going well so I was happy to be in contention in the first week in China in Hainan.

“I actually expected a bit more in the second week. I wanted to be in a similar position to the week before – but that’s golf I guess.

“I was pretty pleased with how I played in China and it gave me a chance to get my card this week. It’s been good and hopefully I can get the job done.”

The Challenge Tour Grand Final is the 24th and final event on the Road to Mallorca, where the top 45 players compete for one of 15 European Tour cards on offer.

Such is the breakdown of prize money this week in Mallorca, any player will graduate to the European Tour with a victory – giving everyone in the field a shot at glory.

There are nine English and three Scots in the field. Gleneagles’ two-time winner Calum Hill heads the money list while Hampshire’s Richard Bland will be hoping for a repeat of his Challenge Tour Grand Final win in Bordeaux, in 2001 – still the 46-year-old’s only victory of his professional career.

Bland, who is ranked third, is one of three English players inside the top 15 before play commences.

The likes of Cheshire’s Matthew Jordan (10th), and Lancashire’s Jack Senior (7th), who have a win each on the Challenge Tour in 2019, are hoping to maintain their place in the top 15 to ensure graduation.

Meanwhile Wiltshire’s Ben Stow (17th) will be hoping to move up at least two places to gatecrash the party.

Oliver Farr (15th) and Rhys Enoch (25th) will fly the flag for Wales this week, while Cormac Sharvin is Northern Ireland’s sole representative in Mallorca, sitting pretty currently in ninth place.

Playing privileges on the top tier is not the only prize on offer this week, as the battle to be crowned Challenge Tour No. 1 reaches its conclusion.

Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who is currently second, hopes to make up the 5,277 points to overtake Hill at top – and prevent any charge from Bland, who is another 1,712 points behind.

The Challenge Tour Grand Final will begin at 7.30am GMT with France’s Ugo Coussaud, Somerset’s Laurie Canter and Spaniard Carlos Pigem playing in the first group out, with Besseling set to go off at 9.09am.

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