Ivan Cantero Gutierrez is hoping to bounce back from last week’s missed cut and continue his impressive start to the season at the Copenhagen Challenge presented by Ejner Hessel, which takes place at Royal Golf Club this week.
The Spaniard recorded back-to-back top five finishes in Abu Dhabi, including a share of second place at the Abu Dhabi Challenge, but missed the cut at last week’s B-NL Challenge Trophy in the Netherlands as the European Challenge Tour returned to Europe for the first time in 2023.
However, the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup player is determined to respond to the missed cut with another strong result on the Road to Mallorca.
“I played really solid in the two weeks in Abu Dhabi and really solid in South Africa,” he said. “My game is trending in the right direction, and I will try my best to keep up the good form on this course this week.
“I was a little disappointed not to win one of the Abu Dhabi events, but I was very happy to finish tied second and tied fifth in those events, so to continue that form would be really good for my season.”
The 27-year-old currently occupies 14th place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings following his successive top five finishes in the UAE, plus a share of 11th at The Challenge presented by KGA in India.
Cantero Gutierrez gained his 2019 DP World Tour card via Qualifying School but struggled with his game on the world stage and failed to retain his playing rights. But after a strong start to the season and a confidence inducing few months, he is determined to reach the top tier once again.
“When I got my DP World Tour card in 2019 I was very happy with that but I wasn’t well prepared to stay on the DP World Tour – that’s the truth,” he explained. “But now I’m more confident with my game, I have more control of my ball and I think I’m better prepared for the DP World Tour now.
“I’ve worked on my swing the last couple of years, but the biggest difference is that I’m comfortable with the golf courses and I’m comfortable with my game. I’ve been very close to winning two tournaments this year and I think I’m in a good place with my game currently, so I need to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
“It’s very difficult to win a tournament. There are always ten players who have a really good game, and I think the difference between winning and a top five finish is very close. You need a little bit of luck in the end to win a tournament.”
The first round of the Copenhagen Challenge presented by Ejner Hessel will get under way at 7:30am local time on Thursday May 25, with Ivan Gutierrez teeing it up alongside 2018 Challenge Tour Number One Joachim B Hansen and Denmark’s Benjamin Poke at 8:40am.
