From Colombia to the European Challenge Tour via Louisiana and Asia, Alvaro Arizabaleta has been on an incredible journey so far. Here, he speaks about how he has arrived at this point in his career.
You grew up in Cali, Colombia. What was it like growing up there in the 1990s?
Cali was a nice place to grow up, Colombia is very beautiful. I was born in 1991 and lived all my life in Colombia until I was 17 years old and then I moved to America to study at University in Louisiana. Colombia is a very nice country and Colombians love golf. We have a lot of really good tournaments and good courses.
Anyone that has seen Narcos has a preconception of Colombia; do you think that’s fair?
Narcoshas painted a picture of Colombia which everyone thinks is true, but it is not that accurate. It is like every country that has areas where you don’t want to go. If you go to the wrong place, then you will have problems, but if you go to the good places then you won’t have a problem with anybody. It is safe and it is beautiful.
I have seen things that you would never see in Europe. You can get robbed walking around and they will grab your phone and in certain places killings would be common, more so back when I was growing up. It can be scary. I was lucky because I lived in a good environment, in good zones. In bad places, bad things happen every day in South America. It is really common.
Why did you start playing golf?
My father used to play golf with his friends twice a week and he was a member of a golf club in Cali. He used to take me every time he played and that’s how I got into golf when I was four years old. I had some different offers to study in America, but I made the decision to go to Louisiana. It was a really good experience, but I quit after a year and a half.
The president of the Colombian Golf Federation phoned me and told me he was going to make a team with one of the country’s biggest sponsors and it was my dream to turn professional, so I said thanks to the University and moved back to Colombia to play on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
What was it like playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica?
I played in Colombia for four years on PGA Tour Latinoamérica but then I injured my knee and stopped playing for a year. I was riding a bicycle and injured my knee ligaments and meniscus, so I had to have surgery and then there was a long recovery period after that. It was difficult with therapy and physio.
That was when I started thinking about Europe and Asia because I was a little bit tired of the Latin America Tour. It’s a really good tour and was a great experience but it is difficult to get a sponsor and it’s not easy to travel because it’s very expensive.
Why do you think more South Americans don’t come and play in Europe?
All South Americans are focused on one thing; Web.com Tour and then to the PGA Tour, that’s what we have in mind. You have to go to school in America and then try PGA Tour Latinoamérica, Web.com and then finish on the PGA Tour. We don’t have Europe in mind.
I have a really good friend, who I have competed against since we were really young, called Emiliano Grillo. He is a really good friend of mine and we have played a lot of South American Championships, a lot of World Championships together and I spoke to him and he said: “I told you! The Challenge Tour is a great path to take.” That’s why I’m here.
How did you get back into golf after being injured for such a long time?
I wasn’t playing golf because I was injured, and I had a real think about what I was going to do. I recovered from my knee injury and went to Asia. I went and played on the Philippine Golf Tour and also played some Asian Development Tour. I liked it and my girlfriend’s mother lived in Marbella, Spain, for 20 years so each December we travelled there to see her.
It was easy to travel from Asia to Spain so I finished my physio in Spain because I lost my Latin America tour card that year because I couldn’t play. That’s why I came to Europe because it was a dream of my father’s. He told me before I went to America that my game is suited to Europe. Now I’m here and I’m so happy.
I moved to Europe, finished my recovery and started to look at what I needed to do. I entered Alps Tour and progressed through the qualifier. I started playing and only got into seven tournaments but finished in the top 15 in the Order of Merit and played in the final.
I became a member of the Spanish Federation and they gave me a card so I could play in Spain. I won the Order of Merit on the Gecko Tour in Spain and that gave me entry to European Tour Q-School and these seven invites on the Challenge Tour.
What is the aim for the rest of the year?
My results are improving, and I’m now aiming for a top 70 place this year. I used my first invite in Turkey and came tied 44th, made the cut in Prague and then came fifth in the last event, which got me into this week. I can do it on this tour.
I’m a lot more confident now and I’m in the top 25 on the Order of Merit. I have to play a little bit better and make the most of the invites I’ve got left and try and get a couple more top tens as well to save my card. I’ve got to save my card by finishing in the top 70. I have five more invites and I think there are 13 events left this season. I need to play well and get some money in the bank!
