Englishman Simon Dyson will continue a long run of tournaments at the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC this week as he attempts to play his way back to form.
The 35 year old admits he has been struggling so far this season - he is yet to have a top 20 finish - and believes the only way to improve is to compete week in, week out until the sharpness that has yielded him six European Tour title returns.
Dyson will be one of the most high-profile names to contest the dual-ranking, €500,000 event at Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club in northern France, and it will be his fifth tournament of a run that could stretch to nine weeks on the spin – or longer if he qualifies for The Open Championship next month.
“I’m playing some really nice golf at the minute and not really getting any reward,” he said. “A week could turn it around, and that’s why I’m going. It doesn’t matter where the tournament is or how much money it’s for, I just want to keep playing.
“It’s not a million miles from home, so it’s the perfect chance to get another week of bedding in. I did alright there last time I was there in 2004. I think I was fourth and (Alessandro) Tadini bogeyed the last to give (José-Filipe) Lima the win.
“It’s the type of course you can hit good shots and get no reward for them, so it’ll have to be a patient week. The ‘got to win’ mentality isn’t good because unless you win it’s a negative. But if I could have a top five or six finish it’s going in the right direction.
“I haven’t been playing great golf lately, but I am now – it’s just the scores and results haven’t been reflecting it.”
Half the field for the newly named Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open comes from the Challenge Tour, with prize money counting for the Rankings, so it is widely regarded as the Major of the second tier.
One Challenge Tour player with fond memories of the event is Dutchman Wil Besseling, who finished in a tie for fourth place in 2012.
The 27 year old shot returns in fine form having narrowly missed out on winning the Telenet Trophy three weeks ago, where he lost in a play-off, before finishing tied 20th in the D+D Real Czech Challenge Open.
“It’s a special week and a special event,” said Besseling, whose one win on the Challenge Tour came at the ll Club Colombia Masters in 2008. “It’s not a week when you have to shoot very low scores but that presents its own mental challenges.
“Everyone knows it’s a tricky course and bogeys or doubles are easily made on it. Equally the birdies are hard to come by; the greens are so tough and you have to be in the right spot on both the fairways and greens to do well. You need to be patient.
“I know I can do well, though. Madeira and this week are certainly the biggest weeks for Challenge Tour players and a great opportunity to get straight on The European Tour.
“It’s always in your mind what can happen when you return to a course you have done well on before so hopefully it can inspire me to another good finish.”
In the ten years since the tournament became dual-ranking, nine winners have made the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC their first victory on The European Tour.
