Robin Williams has set his sights on a first Challenge Tour win as he prepares to tee it up in the Euram Bank Open at GC Adamstal.
The 22-year-old recorded a season-best second place finish last time out at the Kaskáda Golf Challenge – adding to top five finishes earlier this year at the Dimension Data Pro-Am and Challenge de España – and is looking to go one better this week to secure a maiden title.
“Winning will mean everything,” he said. “I’ve had a second, third and fifth place, so I’ve been exposed to being in the last group, or near that. I know my game is good enough, I just need to get over that line now.
“I’ve worked very hard to put myself in this position, and by winning it will open up a lot more doors for me and do wonders for my confidence.”
Despite his relative youth, Williams is no stranger to golf’s biggest stages, having made his debut on the DP World Tour as a 16-year-old at the 2017 British Masters and represented Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup through his dual English-South African nationality.
Playing in his first season on the Challenge Tour, Williams has been struck by the stiff competition and high demand of each event.
“The competition is fierce on the Challenge Tour,” he said. “Many of these guys will move on this year, or in coming years, to the DP World Tour, and I’ve showed that I can compete with them, so that does a lot for confidence.
“It’s high demand each week, so you have to be on your game. If you’re a little bit off your game, it’s not just a top twenty, it’s a missed cut.”
Turning his attention to the challenge of playing GC Adamstal, Williams is focused on maintaining concentration and prioritising recovery to combat the physical test of the mountainous course.
“There’s a lot of altitude change this week,” he said. “I think a lot of guys will lose shots purely because it’s not a nice walk. Losing concentration is very easy this week.
“The main thing for me is the recovery part, it’s one of those weeks that will be physically very demanding, so you have to prioritise recovery as best you can.
“I have a good game plan for this golf course, and I know what it requires to do well here. I’m just going to try to give myself a chance on Sunday – that’s all I can really do.”
Williams is part of a strong field in Austria that includes DP World Tour winners Alexander Levy from France, Scot Marc Warren, and Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, as well as a pair of Euram Bank Open past champions in Frenchman Joël Stalter, who won in 2020, and 2022-winner Marc Hammer from Germany.
The opening round of the Euram Bank Open gets under way at 7:30am local time, with Williams teeing it up alongside Levy and Englishman Joshua Berry at 8:30am.
