Robin Sciot-Siegrist returns to the site of his first professional victory this week and is eager to become the first player to successfully defend the Galgorm Resort and Spa NI Open, presented by Modest! Golf.
In front of a packed crowd at Galgorm Castle last year the Frenchman excelled on Shootout Sunday, winning five rounds of matchplay contests before defeating Italy’s Alessandro Tadini by two strokes in the final to seal victory.
This season the event returns to a 72-hole strokeplay format, and the 24 year old is hoping that he can return to winning ways in Northern Ireland.
“I have really great memories from last year,” he said. “It was the site of my first professional victory, the crowds were huge, the course is great so when I arrived here all those memories came flooding back to me.
“I don't know if I am biased because I won but I thought the format was really good – I like the change from the normal 72-hole format – and I thought it might come back this year.
“But I am still very positive about the week. It's a great course – I really, really like it here. The greens are tough and you have to hit a good tee shot if you want to get close to the flags because the rough is thick. Hopefully I can get something going here again.”
Arriving in Galgorm Sciot-Siegrist sits in 42nd place on the Road to Ras Al Khaimah, and despite feeling some discomfort in his right wrist the left-hander says he is starting to rediscover the form which saw him come close to finishing inside the top 15 last year.
“It has been an okay season so far,” he said. “I had a good third place in Prague and although I am making quite a few cuts I haven’t really managed to get a lot of good points on the board.
“My right wrist is bothering me a bit – I am working with a physio to figure it out and hopefully it will be ok this week – but overall I feel that a good result is just around the corner.”
