Welshman Stuart Manley plans to take inspiration from former European Challenge Tour stars Edoardo Molinari and José-Filipe Lima in the ECCO Tour Championship at GreenEagle Golf Club in Germany this week.
Lima won the event last year, one shot ahead of Molinari, and the pair went on to graduate to The European Tour via the Challenge Tour Rankings.
Molinari, in particular, has achieved great success this season, winning the Barclays Scottish Open to reach ninth place in The Race to Dubai, having had four other top five finishes.
Manley was also in contention at last year’s ECCO Tour Championship in Denmark, but had to settle for tied 15th place after a final round 79 in the heavy rain and windy conditions that forced the cancellation of round three.
The 31 year old has been in fine form in recent weeks, finishing runner-up in the Credit Suisse Challenge, tied sixth in the English Challenge and tied 23rd in the Rolex Trophy. But at 29th in the current Rankings, he knows he needs some improved results to finish inside the all-important top 20 and follow Molinari and Lima back onto The European Tour.
“I had a change in fortunes in Switzerland and played nicely,” he said. “I hadn’t played or scored that well up to that point – I’d made quite a few cuts, but hadn’t really finished that high up. But I started putting well. The next week in England I just kept the confidence going. Golf is all about confidence.
“Then we had a two week break and I wish there hadn’t been, because I really wanted to keep the momentum going. I went on holiday to Greece, and came back quite refreshed. I played pretty nicely again at the Rolex Trophy last week, although I need to get that sharpness back around the greens.
“Another good finish in the ECCO Tour Championship would be great. My aim is a top ten finish in the Rankings. It’s a big tournament with a good prize fund of €180,000 and a strong field. So if I can play well and pick up a good cheque, that will help.
“What Lima did last year and what Molinari has done definitely inspires you. You look at where Edoardo’s come from last year, and what his World Ranking position was at the start of last year. I think he was around 600th, now he’s up around 20th, so he’s done phenomenally well. That’s just unbelievable golf, but just shows it can be done. I, like a lot of the pros playing Challenge Tour, take him as an inspiration and want to follow in his footsteps, playing World Golf Championship events and competing in the Majors – not to mention The Ryder Cup in a few months’ time, which he might be part of.”
The top five in the Rankings – Robert Dinwiddie, Thorbjørn Olesen, Floris De Vries, Bernd Wiesberger and George Murray – will all be competing for the first time over the par 73 North Course at Green Eagle Golf Club in Winsen, near Hamburg, which at 7,882 yards is among the longest in Europe.
Manley added: “The lads who’ve played there before say it’s a very good course, and very long. I think you will have to really be on your game there, so I need to sharpen up my short game if I’m going to contend.”
Italian teenager Matteo Manassero is also in the field for his fourth Challenge Tour event of the season, and hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of last weekend. The 17 year old led the Rolex Trophy by one shot with three holes to play, but dropped shots at the 16th and 17th to hand victory to Chile’s Mark Tullo.
“It was a tough way to finish but I’m playing well and confident in my game, so eventually that win will come,” said Manassero. “Hopefully I can learn from this for the future, and maybe I can win in Germany.”
After securing his maiden Challenge Tour victory at the Rolex Trophy, Tullo will attempt to become the first player on the 2010 Challenge Tour Schedule to win back to back titles this week.
A closing round of 65 at Golf Club de Genève saw Tullo, who started the day four shots behind overnight leader Manassero, take the title by one stroke from the Italian prodigy.
The €24,000 he collected for victory was comfortably the largest pay cheque of Tullo’s career, but perhaps more importantly it moved the 32 year old up to 11th place in the Rankings, and therefore on course to claim a place on The European Tour for the first time.
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