Englishman Daniel Brooks is delighted to have rediscovered some promising form in recent weeks, and is hoping to make an impact in this week’s Challenge Provincia di Varese in Italy.
The 25 year old finished tied fourth in last week’s Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, and finished in the top 20 in the three events before that – second in the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda, tied 15th in the Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC and tied 13th in the Fred Olsen Challenge de España.
Those results have propelled him up to seventh in the current Challenge Tour Rankings, and he is pleased his game is returning after a slow start to the season.
“I missed a few cuts early on, but in the last four or five weeks everything seems to have come together and I’ve played really well,” said Brooks, who is playing his third season on the Challenge Tour.
“I wouldn’t say I was playing poorly at the start of the season, but I wasn’t getting what I should have been getting from my rounds. I can’t put a finger on what it was, but I just kept practising and working hard and it’s come good.
“I’ve had a bit of good luck here and there in recent weeks, but I’ve been working really hard on all parts of my game. Something wasn’t really clicking before in the first few events, but that has changed and it’s going pretty well now. Long may it continue.
“Normally I start the season slowly and work my way into it, so it’s a situation I’m used to.”
Brooks admits he is completely focused on finishing in the top 20 of the Challenge Tour Rankings to earn a European Tour card for 2013, and has little interest in anything but golf.
“When I’m not playing a tournament I’m still always on a golf course,” he said. “I live on the course at Mill Hill, so I spend Monday to Friday there playing golf full-time. I don’t ever really take any time off.
“That’s the way I like it to be. My life is golf and I love playing. It’s never a chore to be out playing or practising, that’s why I spend most of my time doing that. I have my targets for the year and the only way I will meet them is through hard work.”
This week’s €160,000 tournament is the first of four to be played in Italy this year, and it is the first time the Challenge Tour has visited the picturesque Golf Club Varese, near the famous lakes in the north of the country.
“My first impressions are that it looks a good place here,” Brooks added. “I’ll be playing a practice round this afternoon and then it’s straight in tomorrow. I don’t know too much about the course because there’s never been a Challenge Tour event here before, but that’s the same for everyone.
“Hopefully I’ll play well again and take advantage of this form with another good result.”
