For Sebastien Gros, 2015 will always stand out as one of the most significant years of his young golfing career after the Frenchman graduated from the European Challenge Tour to earn a rookie season in the big time.
The 26 year old finished second in the Road to Oman Rankings – his total winnings of €178,645 would have been enough for top spot in four of the previous five seasons – to earn a European Tour card in his first season on Europe’s top developmental tour.
He has since taken to European Tour life like a natural, shooting a nine under par 63 in the third round of the season-opening Alfred Dunhill Championship – the low round of the week – to play in the final group on the Sunday alongside eventual champion Charl Schwartzel, ultimately finishing in an impressive fourth place.
Earlier in the year, a maiden Challenge Tour victory in the Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC was followed by a dramatic win in the Kazakhstan Open – the most lucrative event of the season (see highlights below) – which briefly saw Gros top the Rankings before he was overhauled by Ricardo Gouveia in the final two tournaments of the year.
Three further finishes inside the top five and only three missed cuts all season meant Gros’ place on The 2016 Race to Dubai was guaranteed with a handful of events to spare, but he was still delighted when it was confirmed after the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.
“It’s a great feeling to reach The European Tour,” he said. “I was aiming for the top spot for sure after winning in Kazakhstan but Ricardo showed too much at the end, and I’m proud to have finished second in the Rankings.
“It’s been a life-changing year for me and hopefully it’s just the start. It was a good way to grow up and learn a few things as well this year on the Challenge Tour.
“Getting top 15 was always the goal, and gives you the confidence to go on to The European Tour. I’ve been top 15, or top three or four even, all year, won a couple of big events as well, so I’m looking forward to next year.”
Gros’s rise through the ranks since turning professional has been swift, and he came agonisingly close to earning a European Tour card at Qualifying School Final Stage in 2014, bogeying each of his final three holes to miss out by just one shot.
Redemption was instant in his first season on the Challenge Tour, following stints on the Alps Tour and the Asian Tour, and Gros believes that his hometown of Lyon could become a hotbed for French golfing talent, with clubmate at Lyon Salvagny Golf Club Clément Sordet having emerged this summer with a maiden Challenge Tour win to his name.
“Our area of France is a strong one for golf,” he said “Gary Stal is also from Lyon, not the same club as me and Clément but the same city. Raphael Jacquelin is from there too, which makes three guys who will be on The European Tour next year, plus Clément on the Challenge Tour. I think we’re going to start to be a strong part of the French golfing landscape.
“I started playing golf with my grandpa when I was ten, and then I started thinking about turning professional when I was about 14 or 15 years old.
“I turned pro at the end of 2011, did two years on the Alps Tour, a year on the Asian Tour, and I think everyone knows my story of last year’s Q School, but now achieving European Tour qualification is great.”
