Joel Stalter was, until recently, France’s highest-ranked amateur and the former American collegiate star cannot wait to begin his professional career on home soil at this week’s Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open.
The Frenchman was highly regarded as one of the hottest young prospects in American college golf, having claimed five senior titles as a member of the University of California’s hugely successful NCAA team, overtaking former Challenge Tour winner Julien Brun as the number one French amateur in the process.
The man from Amneville, just outside Metz, believes the Challenge Tour is the perfect place to begin his professional career and fulfil the potential he has shown across the Atlantic, and he is eager to get started.
“It’s great to be playing my first professional tournament in France,” said Stalter, who graduated with a Business major in California. “It’s easier for me coming back here from the States and it is a nice transition so I'm really excited about the week.
“I kept an open mind on my options when I turned pro and I think coming over to Europe would be an easier transition for me. The Challenge Tour is a really highly-regarded tour worldwide and that’s why you see more and more players coming over here.
“There are a lot of great players here so it will be a great experience this summer and I’ll see where it takes me. I'm really excited about it.
“It’s good to be home, although I did feel like San Francisco was my home after spending four of the best years of my life there. So it’s more like coming back to my roots this week.”
Stalter believes the friends he met at University in America were the “future world leaders” and, while many believe he could be a leading player in world golf in the future, he will not be getting carried away and knows he has a lot of work to do if he is to follow in the footsteps of Brooks Koepka – his stable-mate at Hambric Sports.
“What Brooks has done is just remarkable,” he said. “It’s hard to expect that of yourself but it’s definitely an inspiration for me and for a lot of other players.
“The Challenge Tour is a great path to succeed and I would love to do what he did but it’s not that easy!”
The Aa Saint Omer Golf Club upon which this week’s event takes place is reported to be in the best condition it has ever been in and Stalter is confident he can overcome the challenges the tricky lay-out presents.
“The course is in great shape,” he said. “You have to play smart here and I feel good about my game. Everything is great but I just have to make it happen. It’s my first professional event so I'm not going to expect too much.
“I just want to try and play well and keep doing what I've been doing in the last number of years. I want to try and learn too by looking around and seeing how people prepare. Once you’re on tour every day is a learning curve and hopefully the experience will play out in the long run.”
Stalter is joined in the field by compatriot Cyril Bouniol, who was also a hugely successful player in the American collegiate system and he plays his first home professional event this week having made a strong start to his Challenge Tour career.
Former European Tour winners in the field include Welshmen Rhys Davies and Bradley Dredge, as well as Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl, while former Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson also plays.
