Redemption is the name of the game for Emilio Cuartero Blanco ahead of this week’s Challenge de España.
The Spaniard finished in a tie for 104that last year’s event as Frenchman Victor Perez claimed his first European Challenge Tour victory with a final round 65 including a career-first hole-in-one.
And Cuartero Blanco has a score to settle with Izki Golf this week as bids to become the first home winner of the Challenge de España since Eduardo de la Riva in 2012.
“There is nothing like playing at home for everyone,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it because I didn’t play well at Izki last year.
“This year I’m going again for a redemption kind of thing, plus I’ve had a couple of invites so I really need to go big or go home.
“I’m excited to go home, plus you can eat so well in that area and it’s not expensive.”
Designed by the great Seve Ballesteros in 1994, Izki Golf is a tricky course and the Catalan believes it’s important to play sensibly and not attack every hole.
“The course is a tricky course,” he said.
“It’s not easy and you’ve really got to know that course. Some holes on that course you’ve just got to focus on getting a par.
“If you make a birdie, great, but you’ve just got to focus on par. On some holes you can go for it but it’s a demanding course.”
The 27 year old made some swing changes during the off-season and although he admits he’s not hitting the ball as well as he would like to, Cuartero Blanco has been scoring well, namely in last week’s Turkish Airlines Challenge where he finished tied 26thon ten under par.
“I’ve not been hitting it great lately but I’ve been scoring great,” he said.
“I’ve been working on technique up until early February because pre-season is quite long. From November to December I was training indoors and hitting towards a wall and just working on my swing.
“In February and March I’ve been playing in a lot of competitions but I managed to end up shooting low. That’s the feeling you want to have when you compete after the changes.
“You spend an afternoon with your coach, you find the right changes and then you start playing great. I’ve not been hitting it my best but I’m happy.”
