The 2022 Road to Mallorca season gets under way at Fancourt Golf Estate for this week’s Dimension Data Pro-Am. Here’s three men to keep your eye on this week…
Form Horse
England’s Richard Mansell began his 2022 season on the DP World Tour last week, competing in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship Presented by Phoenix Capital. The 26-year-old earned playing privileges on the top tier after finishing in the top five on the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2020 and will therefore come into this season with a plethora of experience under his belt following last year’s trials and tribulations on the DP World Tour. He finished in a tie for 35th place in the Middle East last week and will be looking to build on that at Fancourt.
Local Boy
One man who knows this venue arguably better than anyone else in the field is South Africa’s Jaco Ahlers. Fancourt Golf Estate is Ahlers’ home course and will feel most comfortable in familiar surroundings. The 39-year-old has nine Sunshine Tour wins to his name – including this event in 2018, before it was co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour – while also finishing in a tie for tenth place at Fancourt last year. He will definitely be one to watch…
The Outsider…
A name which may alert the attention of Challenge Tour fans is that of China’s Bai Zheng-kai. ‘Bobby’, as he’s known, arrived on the Challenge Tour scene in 2019 when he won the Foshan Open at Foshan Golf Club. Incredibly, this week marks Bobby’s first Challenge Tour start since his triumph in his homeland three years ago, after the Covid-19 pandemic hampered his ability to compete, while he’s also teed it up on the Korn Ferry Tour in the United States. He’s won once before, so keep an eye out for him this week.
