Joel Moscatel is determined to lift a third Challenge Tour title this season in order to seal automatic promotion to the DP World Tour, as he prepares to tee it up in the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos.
The Spaniard is enjoying a superb debut season on the Challenge Tour that includes a pair of victories, the first of which came in memorable fashion on home soil in the Challenge de España, before he followed that up with victory in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.
The 25-year-old entered the season in good form after securing his Challenge Tour card at DP World Tour Qualifying School in November and finishing in third place at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship on the DP World Tour the following week, but he admits his performances so far have exceeded expectations.
“I was feeling really good at the beginning of the season,” he said. “I knew I could do well, but I didn’t think about how many times I could win.
“Having the Challenge Tour card and playing well in Australia gave me a lot of confidence, but it was just nice to have a card and be able to play the full season.”
Moscatel currently lies fifth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings following those two victories and is in prime position to secure a DP World Tour card for next year, but he remains focused on continuing his good form and earning automatic promotion with another win this season.
“I’m in a great spot,” he added. “But the pressure is not off because you want to finish as high as you can to get into the good tournaments next year.
“In this new situation I’m just trying to do my best, accepting all things, and trying to finish as high as I can.
“A third win would be amazing. That is a goal, but at the same time winning depends on a lot of things. As I’ve experienced twice this year, you have to be in that position to win but sometimes you can’t control everything.”
The Spaniard is excited by the prospect of playing on golf’s Global Tour next year and feels his time on the Challenge Tour has been the ideal preparation for making the step up.
“It will be amazing to compete on the DP World Tour,” he said. “I’m excited to see what’s there and play against guys who have been playing amazing golf for the last fifteen years.
“I don’t know how it’s going to be on the DP World Tour, but the guys on the Challenge Tour are really really good, they play amazing golf and its really tough to finish at the top. You have to play amazing golf all four days and even making the cut isn’t easy.
“I think that’s what prepares you well. We’ve seen from previous years that the guys who went up from the Challenge Tour were really prepared.”
Moscatel is part of a strong field in Portugal that includes fellow two-time winner this season, John Parry from England. Joining them are several DP World Tour winners, including former Portugal Masters champions Álvaro Quirós of Spain and Frenchman Alexander Levy, who triumphed on these shores in 2008 and 2014 respectively.
The first round of the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos gets under way at 7:40am local time on Thursday, with Moscatel teeing it up alongside Parry and Denmark’s Hamish Brown at 1:30pm.
