As the latest Spaniard to follow in the footsteps of an esteemed list of compatriots, Borja Virto Astudillo will be looking to emulate one in particular in 2015, as he embarks on a rookie campaign fresh from successfully negotiating the Qualifying School Final Stage.
Citing Sergio Garcia as his hero, the man from northern Spain claimed the 19th card on offer at PGA Catalunya Resort, and will be mixing it with the 11-time European Tour winner and countless other stars this season as he looks to continue his rapid rise to the top.
Regardless of his performance at the six round marathon in Girona, Virto was already assured of his place on the European Challenge Tour, thanks to a fourth place finish on the satellite Alps Tour Order of Merit after claiming two titles in 2014.
He would see no need to rest on those laurels, however, as he stormed to a tie for fourth at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club as part of the Second Stage of the qualifying process before his heroics a week later in the final.
He might have only been a professional for a season, but his talent clearly belies his mere 23 years, and he will hope that upward progression continues into next year.
“It feels awesome to be a European Tour player,” said Virto, who made three cuts on the second tier last season, finishing as high as a tie for 22nd at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda.
“This was my first year as a pro and I played nine Challenge Tour events and 11 on the Alps Tour. I finished top four on the Alps Tour (Order of Merit) so I had already secured a Challenge Tour card, but The European Tour sounds a lot better.
“It’s really special and I still can’t believe it, I just think I need some time to realise what I have done.
“Sergio Garcia is probably my inspiration, and while I don’t know him as a person, I would love to get to know him.
“I started playing when I was six, with my dad, who has a single figure handicap. I have been playing with the Spanish team since I was 12, all the way up to the men’s category, and I won the Spanish Amateur when I was 18.
“I tried going to the USA to study at Iowa State for three years, but that didn’t work out. I wasn’t very happy and my golf wasn’t going well over there so I decided to quit and go back to Spain, and that’s when I started to play well again.
“I played for the Spanish team for a year after that, before turning professional, and I had thought 2014 was a pretty good year but now it’s an awesome one!”
The list is long and distinguished when it comes to those promising amateur careers that have not fulfilled their potential in the paid ranks, but Virto is already showing that the transition is one that has so far been comfortable for him.
There have been difficulties already, which will no doubt stand him in good stead ahead of this season, so with lessons learned it will be interesting to watch the baby-faced Spaniard’s career progress in the weeks, months and perhaps years to come.
“It was hard going to the USA as it was so far from home, and I didn’t speak much English, as well as where it was as it got really cold too,” said Virto. “The culture and everything else didn’t suit me, plus I had a girlfriend back in Spain, which made it really hard. I feel much better in Europe.
“I have played a lot with Adrian Otaegui (who claimed the fifth card at the Qualifying School Final Stage) as I’m from Pamplona so we have played all the small tournaments together since we were around ten years of age.
“It’s a long way to get to where Sergio (Garcia) is because he is so good, but hopefully in the future I can be the same, although it’s too much to talk like that right now. I just want to think about keeping my card next year and see how it goes.”
