Lorenzo Scalise is targeting promotion to the DP World Tour with a top 20 finish on the 2022 Road to Mallorca Rankings.
The 26-year-old enjoyed a stellar amateur career, winning the 2017 Italian Amateur Championship, finishing low-amateur at the 2017 Italian Open and represented Team International at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup. The Italian finished in 30th position on the 2019 Rankings in his maiden European Challenge Tour season, which included a second place finish on home soil at the Italian Challenge, but is now setting his sights on making the step up to the DP World Tour.
Scalise struggled to find a level of consistency in 2021 as he finished 46th on the Rankings in 2021, and the Italian was disappointed with his overall performance, despite a second place finish at the Kaskáda Golf Challenge.
“I would give my season a six out of ten last year,” he said. “Looking at the Rankings, I was aiming for the top 20 and I didn’t make that so I can’t give myself a better grade than that. Looking back on it, it was a tough season for a lot of reasons.
“I switched coach mid-season but was unable to see him until June and after that I started to play better golf. I had a slow start as I didn’t know whether to play a mixture of Challenge Tour and DP World Tour but decided to fully commit to the Challenge Tour from June onwards.”
The 26-year-old believes that being unable to secure a DP World Tour card last year could be a blessing in disguise as he is now better equipped, both mentally and physically, to take on the rigorous nature of the Road to Mallorca.
“Looking forwards, I am more determined than I’ve ever been and that is because of how last season went,” Scalise said. “I think not reaching my goals could be a good learning curve for me because I have evaluated why that didn’t happen and now know what I need to work on to be successful. It has brought out some more motivation and determination to put things right.
“I feel like my game is in a better place heading into this season. I have prepared better and my ideas are a lot clearer about what I need to work on and I am willing to do the extra work and sacrifices every day to get better. I am more focused and determined this year.”
Scalise is in no doubt that he can win on the Challenge Tour but admits he needs to find a greater level of consistency to finish inside the top 20 on the Rankings this season. The Italian recorded a top ten finish at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, in addition to his second place in Kaskáda last year, but wants to put himself into winning positions on a more regular basis to give him the best chance of picking up a maiden Challenge Tour title in 2022.
“I have come close to winning on the Challenge Tour and I know I can win on this Tour,” he said. “The two times I have played a full season, I finished 46th and 30th on the Rankings and I know I am capable of finishing inside the top 20 but I haven’t put myself in the position to win enough times. If I can put myself in a position to win then I’m sure one time it will go my way.
“I have my targets for the season but they are not result orientated. My targets are based on things I can control like making sure my preparation is good every week, not getting away from the blueprint that me and my coaches have set for the year. I think If I can focus on those two things week in week out, then I will play much better golf.”
The 26-year-old knows it is a difficult task ahead to secure DP World Tour playing rights and revealed how four-time DP World Tour winner and close friend, Matteo Manassero, was shocked by the high standard on the Challenge Tour.
“The Challenge Tour is brutal,” he said. “I’ve played for four years and the quality has got better every week, I can’t imagine the difference between now and ten years ago. The level is so high out here and I was talking to Matteo, who has played in the biggest of events with the best players in the world, and he told me the biggest surprise for him on the Challenge Tour was just how good the players were.”
Scalise will be looking to impress as the season begins in South Africa with the Dimension Data Pro-Am from February 10-13, the first of seven co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour.
