Jordan Gumberg is relishing the opportunity to put himself in the European Challenge Tour promotion picture when he tees it up in the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos this week.
The American has made a charge up the Road to Mallorca Rankings in recent weeks, with two top five finishes in three events across the UK swing seeing him climb to 39th in the standings.
The 28-year-old, who began the year playing off invites, now has a designated category following an impressive run of results. With the top 20 players after the season-ending Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A earn DP World Tour playing privileges for the 2024 season, he’s excited by the prospect of doing just that with five events of the season to go.
“Now I’m in the top 45 I’m looking at achieving DP World Tour status,” he said. “Those two good results gave me a huge jump in the Rankings and gave me the confidence to change my goals a little bit. The new goal is just to try to get as far up on the Rankings as we can.
“This is essentially the playoffs now with it being the last four events before the Grand Final and I’m 39th.
“I’m setting my sights on hopefully cracking the top 20 with a couple of good finishes. I think we’ve got enough time to do that with elevated events in China and Mallorca as well.”
Gumberg, who teed it up in the US Open at The Los Angeles CC earlier this year, is beginning to find his feet playing in Europe and believes the experience is making him a more complete player.
“As an American, I’m used to teeing it high and letting it fly but in Europe you just can’t do that,” he added. “The rough is pretty thick in most countries and the weather can get a little hairy which is a lot different for me.
“Coming from Florida we usually have sunshine and good conditions for golf most of the year. So to come over here and play well in these conditions, I think it helps you become a better player. If you can go out and play in that weather and play well then you can play anywhere.”
Gumberg joins a stellar field in Portugal that includes Road to Mallorca Number One Casey Jarvis, two-time DP World Tour winner Lucas Bjerregaard and three-time DP World Tour winner Brandon Stone.
