Julien Brun is determined to make amends for his early exit at last year’s Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 with a match-winning performance at Valle Romano Golf this week.
The Frenchman carded a stunning second round nine under par 62 to make the cut and qualify for the knockout stages in second place on the leaderboard.
Despite his high ranking after the stroke play stage, the 26 year old suffered defeat in the first round to Joel Girrbach on the sudden death tenth hole much to his disappointment.
Brun, who won on the Challenge Tour as an amateur in 2012, is accustomed to the match play format after representing Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup in 2008 and winning the 2012 Palmer Cup in Northern Ireland.
After making its debut on the European Challenge Tour last season, the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 returns and Brun is eager to right his wrongs when the tournament gets under way this week.
“It’s a fun format and it’s exciting to play, as we don’t get to play match play very often,” Brun said. “Last year was unfortunate for me but this year I want to make the cut and get my revenge.
“You want to go as far as possible and last year I lost in the first round, so if I make the second round that will be far better. It’s an exciting change of format and it’s good to play once or twice a year.
“The match play is a lot of fun because you play head-to-head and there are a lot more mind games than there are in regular stroke play in four rounds. It’s only nine holes, so you can have fun because it’s quite quick. You have to be right in there and finish strong.
“It can be very competitive, especially if you get to play a guy you don’t like and there’s a good chance you have to knock him out and play better than him. But the main thing is to make the cut so you make the knockout draw, then anything can happen.”
The tournament will be played at Valle Romano Golf in southern Spain for the first time this year. Players will compete in two rounds of stroke play before the top 64 will battle it out in the nine hole knockout format over the weekend.
