Haydn Porteous heads to the AEGEAN Airlines Challenge Tour by Hartl Resort hoping to emulate his South African compatriot Jake Roos by pulling off a Kenyan-German double on the European Challenge Tour.
Roos won this event last year having previously triumphed at the season-opening Barclays Kenya Open, where Porteous also claimed his maiden Challenge Tour victory in April (video highlights below).
The 20 year old has struggled to match that result since, dropping to ninth in the Road to Oman Rankings, but is hopeful of rediscovering some form in the coming weeks.
“I’m finding my game slowly,” he said. “After Kenya things haven’t gone as well as I had hoped, but I’ve got a clearer mind now on what I have to do and hopefully this week will be the start of some good finishes.
“I hadn’t been playing very well leading up to Kenya and it was a bit of a shot in the dark. But I’ve changed coaches and I’m starting to become more confident in the way I’m doing things. I think I just got caught up a bit in the technical part of the game.
It's quite difficult for the South African guys to come to Europe - the conditions aren't the same and it can be daunting for us
“To start with a win is good but it can put a bit of pressure on you because you feel like you have to get into that top 15 now. You’ve got to take it one tournament at a time and just play the best you can, and hopefully by the end of the season you end up with that top 15 card.
“Obviously Jake Roos did it but it did end up being very tight for him, even with two wins under his belt. That shows you that those 15 European Tour cards are tough to get, and you have to prove yourself to do that.
“Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps this week, that would be nice, but you just have to take it a shot at a time and hopefully by the end of the week I’ll be lifting that trophy.”
Porteous thinks it can be difficult for South Africans to adapt to European courses and conditions but credits Branden Grace’s success on both The European Tour and Challenge Tour as a source of inspiration.
“I think it’s quite difficult for the South African guys to come over to Europe and get a couple of wins,” he said. “The conditions aren’t the same and it can be a daunting challenge for us.
“Luckily Jake showed us that we can do it, but it’s not as easy as some people might think it is considering it’s a level below The European Tour – a lot of the winning scores on the Challenge Tour would have a decent chance of winning on The European Tour.
“It doesn’t really surprise me that Branden spent three years on the Challenge Tour before breaking through. It's a really good learning tour, if you can win here you can definitely win anywhere in the world and Branden is showing that. He was so close in the US Open and that shows you that one or two shots each week is not that far away.
“This is a great stepping stone for the future, and if you can get that card you can definitely compete on The European Tour and even in Majors.
“Every week here teaches you a lot about the game and a lot about yourself. Hopefully now I can get another win and do even better under pressure than I did in Kenya.”
Ten of the top 15 in the Road to Oman Rankings, including Porteous, will be teeing up on the Beckenbauer course at the Hartl Resort, with England’s Jack Senior hoping for back-to-back wins following his play-off victory in the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts last week.
Local interest may well focus on Bernd Ritthammer, whose final round 65 last year earned him a tie for third place, while has also notched up two top ten finishes on The European Tour this season.
Chris Hanson is back seeking redemption after coming close to securing his maiden Challenge Tour victory last year. The Englishman led for much of the final day but faltered down the home stretch and was overtaken by Roos, who birdied two of his last three holes.
