With the first event of the Final Swing set to tee off on Thursday, europeantour.com takes a look at the five players we think you should be looking out for in the four rounds to come at Chongqing Poly Golf Club.
Dave Coupland
There are few more unassuming characters on the European Challenge Tour than the Lincolnshire native, who has quietly put together one of the season's more consistent campaigns, to enter the final four events of the year in 25th place on the Rankings. Ten top 30 finishes from his 18 starts so far have been the foundation for that position, thanks to a career-best share of runner-up at the Turkish Airlines Challenge back in May, before a tie for third the following month at the Belgian Challenge Open. If he were to replicate that kind of podium form this week in China, then Coupland would stake a very strong claim to a place in that all-important top 15, having only graduated off the EuroPro Tour just 12 months ago.
Matteo Delpodio
After a maiden season on The European Tour last year, Delpodio is back on the Challenge Tour in 2014, and making a late run at the top 15 on the Rankings thanks to top ten finishes in his last two starts at both the Kazakhstan Open and the EMC Golf Challenge Open. His ties for ninth and seventh respectively have seen him climb to 28th on the season-long list, and if the Turin native can carry that same form into the final weeks of the season then a return to Europe’s elite could well be on the cards.
Edouard Espana
One of three Frenchman who currently reside in the top 15 on the Rankings, the man in 10th spot is arguably in the best form of anyone on the second tier right now, after Espana followed a share of ninth alongside Delpodio in Almaty with a share of third last time out in Rome. These were just the latest in a strong run of results this summer that have seen the 24 year old record top 20 finishes in 13 of his previous 17 starts, with his worst finish in that time a mere share of 41st spot. This is only his first season on the Challenge Tour, but it looks like all he will need, and a continuation of this form in the month ahead will see him make his way onto The Race to Dubai in 2015.
Ben Evans
After some success as an amateur – namely winning the Faldo Series in 2007, an honour also bequeathed to the likes of European Tour winner Oliver Fisher and World Number One Rory McIlroy – Evans has struggled somewhat since taking to the professional ranks. After losing his place on the Challenge Tour in 2012 though, his return via last year’s Qualifying School has been impressive, and after two top ten finishes in a little over a month, he heads to China looking to rubber stamp his best season since he finished 36th on the Rankings in 2010. Currently nine places further down than that mark with four events to go, the 27 year old who makes his home on England’s south east coast, could well be in the running for a maiden title in the weeks to come.
Matt Fitzpatrick
The past year or two has seen Fitzpatrick establish himself as one of the greatest young talents in the game thanks to amateur success across the globe, including the 2013 US Amateur Championship, as well as the Silver Medal awarded to the top amateur at the Open Championship later that same year. In his final appearance on one of the game’s grandest stages, the Sheffield native also made the cut at the US Open Championship back in June, before turning professional shortly after. Since then he has impressed most weeks – especially on the second tier – where he has recorded four top 11 results from six invites. The best of those was a tie for seventh at Olgiata Golf Club a fortnight ago, and at 53rd on the Rankings, he is still in with a chance of reaching that all-important top 15.
Also in the field, and worthy of special mention, is South Africa's Jake Roos, who has claimed two titles on the 2014 Challenge Tour this season. If hewere to go one better this week then there would be no need to wait until the season’s end, albeit only a few events away, as he would earn himself an immediate place on The Race to Dubai.
