Manuel Elvira has set his sights on home glory when he tees it up in the Challenge de España at Club de Golf Playa Serena this week.
The Spaniard currently sits in fifth position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and has all but secured his DP World Tour playing privileges for 2024 with six events remaining.
The top 20 in the Rankings after the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A will earn promotion to the DP World Tour and Elvira is relishing the opportunity to join brother Nacho on Europe’s top tier.
“It’s always nice to play on home soil,” he said. “I’m only about five hours from here and it’s great to be back in Spain. The weather is warm and I’m looking forward to it.
“Golf has been really kind to me this year. If I had to put a grade on my season it would be an A plus. If you told me a year ago that I would pretty much have my DP World Tour card secured I would have told you that you were crazy but here we are.
“I’ve put a lot of hard work in over the past year both on and off the course. I’m so pleased with where my game is right now, and it will be good to join my brother on a regular basis next year.”
The 27-year-old, who has recorded three second place finishes this season, believes the layout at Club de Golf Playa Serena will suit his eye as he looks to round off an impressive campaign with a maiden victory on the European Challenge Tour.
“I always feel more comfortable playing at home, and I’ve got some friends and family coming down which will provide some extra support which I don’t have elsewhere,” he said.
“The rough is quite brutal this week with the Bermuda grass so you need to be straight off the tee. The strength of my game is accuracy with the driver so I think this course will suit me.”
Elvira joins a star-studded field in Almería this week which includes Road to Mallorca Number One Casey Jarvis, seven-time DP World Tour winner Alvaro Quiros and Matteo Manassero, the youngest winner in DP World Tour history.
The first round of the Challenge de España will begin at 8.00am local time, with Elvira teeing off alongside last week’s winner Maximillian Rottluff and Englishman Jamie Rutherford.
