Englishman Jack Singh Brar is looking to build on his strong start to his debut Challenge Tour season by going one better at the 56˚ Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort.
The 21 year old made his first Challenge Tour appearance in Turkey at the Turkish Airlines Challenge two weeks ago and produced a memorable final round to finish tied second behind Road to Ras Al Khaimah leader Lorenzo Gagli.
It has been a year of firsts for Singh Brar since turning professional in September 2017. Before shining on debut in his maiden Challenge Tour appearance he claimed his first professional win at the Red Sea Little Venice Open, on the satellite Alps Tour, in February.
He shot five under in his final round to win at Sokhna Golf Club, in Egypt, by five shots to take his inaugural professional title – three months after turning 21 years old.
This week he will tee it up in Portimão in the warmth of the Algarve sunshine, where he is striving to shine once more.
“I think to get your first professional win is a big deal and lucky for me I got it quite early on, because I only turned pro last September,” he said.
“You don’t know what to expect. You get a few invites as an amateur but it is a different mentality when you turn professional.
“It’s my first few weeks on the road, which have been enjoyable. My first week was obviously a great start out in Turkey.
“I struggled a little bit last week but now we’re back in the sun, which should be nice, because it was a little bit too cold for me last week in Spain, but it’s been good so far.
“If this wind picks up the course will play a bit more tricky then what it would do without it. The rough is apparently up from last year because it’s quite patchy but you can get quite screwed if you miss the fairway on the wrong side.
“It should be a good challenging week.”
If he can put in another eye-catching performance like Turkey, then Singh Brar will give himself the opportunity to move into the top ten on the Road to Ras Al Khaimah.
His second place at the end of April saw him rocket up the Rankings to 13th, and it is a performance which he will remember for a long time.
“My game had been pretty good – I’d played a few Alps Tour events and I won one early on and thought I could definitely compete,” he said.
“I really liked the venue and the course was nice – everything was set up really well and the resort was beautiful.
“I just enjoyed the week and finished well on the last five holes with three birdies, which shot me right up the leaderboard. In the final round I never thought I could win because the leaders were too far away and I pushed on in the last minute, but to come home in second was a great result.”
