Christoph Günther is hoping the confidence which returned to his game last week can propel him to victory in the re-arranged Moroccan Classic.
The tournament, to be played at the Pullman El Jadida Royal Golf and Spa, was postponed in April due to the air travel disruption caused by the Icelandic volcanic eruption.
Günther, winner of last year’s Kärnten Golf Open by Markus Brier Foundation, had endured an indifferent start to the Challenge Tour season before last week’s Scottish Hydro Challenge, where he put his season back on track with a tied fifth finish.
“Last week is the best I have played this year,” said Günther. “I have missed a lot of cuts on the Challenge Tour and then have had two European Tour starts that can only be described as awful. I wasn’t feeling great lately but it is amazing what confidence will do for you.
“I was defending champion at the Challenge Tour event a couple of weeks ago in Austria and I was hoping to have a good run there and defend the title, but I ended up missing the cut. After that I went away, sat down and realised I had to change my frame of mind and it seems to have worked. I just talked to a few friends, my coach and decided to start again and play for the moment.
“I think the difference was evident in Scotland last week. There was a point in the second round when I was leading that I went double-bogey, bogey – a couple of weeks ago I might have lost my head and there would have been some serious mumbling going on, but I knew that I was playing well and that I was on a good run so didn’t let it affect me. Hopefully that stays with me in Morocco this week.”
With many of the top ranked Challenge Tour players competing in the dual ranking SAINT OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC, the €150,000 Moroccan Classic represents an opportunity for the rest of the Membership to make a significant move up the Rankings.
The Moroccan Golf Classic has produced an impressive list of champions since it was first played on the Challenge Tour in 2002 at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, including the winner that year, Frenchman Jean-François Lucquin; the 2004 champion Graeme Storm of England; and the 2008 champion Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland – all of whom have gone on to subsequently triumph on The European Tour.
