Europeantour.com introduces Espen Kofstad as the next in our ‘faces to follow’ series on the European Challenge Tour in 2011…
Missing out on a European Tour card by a single shot is a pretty tough pill to swallow, but Norway’s Espen Kofstad is taking the positives from his near-miss at the Qualifying School late last year.
Having turned professional just before Second Stage, where he came 16th, the 21 year old made a fine start to the Finals, carding 71, 64 and 69 in the first three rounds.
Rounds of 75 of 74 then damaged his chances of finishing in the qualifying spots, and a valiant five under par 67 in the last round meant he ended on eight under, one shot outside the 34 who graduated to The 2011 European Tour International Schedule.
Instead of dwelling on what might have been, however, Kofstad is relishing the season ahead on the Challenge Tour.
“My main goal at the Q School Final was just to make the cut – anything above and beyond that would’ve been a bonus,” he said. “It would’ve been great to get my card, but maybe I wasn’t quite ready to make the step up yet. A full season spent playing on the Challenge Tour will be a great experience, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
“The way I played at the Qualifying School obviously gave me a lot of confidence, because I didn’t really know what to expect. But I felt comfortable and was able to hold my own. I only turned professional in June 2010 so I’m still very new to the game and I’ve obviously got a lot to learn.”
Kofstad made his Challenge Tour debut at the Gujarat Kensville Challenge in India last month, finishing tied 18th, and will want to follow in the footsteps of his fellow young Norwegian Marius Thorp, who is playing his debut season on The European Tour having finished 16th in the 2010 Challenge Tour Rankings.
A resident of Oslo, Kofstad studied at the University of Denver in the United States and played on the collegiate circuit for four years, winning twice. In his final year, he had the lowest scoring average on the team, having carded 12 rounds in the 60s from 13 tournaments and recorded ten top ten finishes, and in 2009 he won the ‘Arets Talent’ award as Norway’s top amateur.
Before heading to the other side of the Atlantic, Kofstad collected a number of junior titles, including the 2006 World Boys Championship in Japan, the Norwegian Junior Tour Order of Merit in 2005 and the Norwegian Team Championship. He also won silver in the European Boys Team Championship in Italy and came second in the 2005 Nordic Championship.
Although he was a keen tennis player and footballer as a youngster, he decided golf was the right path to follow. If he continues to make progress as he has done in the last few years, it might just turn out to be a very shrewd decision.
