Jack Senior is looking to put a "tough couple of years" behind him and complete a remarkable comeback season with victory at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.
Just 12 months ago the Englishman was considering walking away from the game after a series of injuries and personal issues led to him not having status on the DP World or Challenge Tours for 2024.
A Challenge Tour graduate in 2019, Senior enjoyed two productive seasons on the DP World Tour before his 2022 campaign was hampered by appendix and back issues.
He returned to the Challenge Tour upon expiry of his medical exemption but could not rediscover the form that had made him a two-time winner, and a 78th-place finish on the Road to Mallorca left him in the golfing wilderness.
A runner-up finish playing on an invite at the Delhi Challenge, however, seemed to reignite the spark and he would miss just one cut over the next six months, securing four top tens in five starts over the summer to put himself comfortably in the top 20 on the Rankings.
A second runner-up finish of the season at the Hangzhou Open last time out all but ensured he will return to the DP World Tour next season and the 36-year-old is ready to kick on again after a turbulent three years.
"I'd had a really tough couple of years with injury and some personal things off the course and it was difficult," he said.
"I took a four-month sabbatical from the game during my medical (exemption) and then came back out and lost my card through Japan and Korea.
"Maybe I came back a bit too early from the things that had happened in my personal life but obviously you don't know that until you get back out and play.
"And then I just rededicated myself this season. I spoke to my whole team and got their take on whether I should continue to play and things like that.
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"It wasn't the fact that I didn't believe I was good enough anymore, it was more the sacrifices I was making, they weren't balancing up in my life.
"It's tough out here, it's dog eat dog. It was great to get a couple of invites early in the season and I took advantage of those with a good finish early doors in India and then I had a great little run in the summer.
"My wife was caddying for me on the bag and a familiar person there by your side makes things a little bit easier. I've got my brother this week caddying for me.
"I didn't ever doubt that I could finish inside the top 20 because I've been there and done it before and I know what my ceiling point is and I know what I'm capable of.
"I feel like I'm now in a good place. You've just got to keep working hard and keep trying to work to the goals that you set for yourself."
Senior is no stranger to Club de Golf Alcanada, having finished in a tie for fourth at this event in his successful season five years ago.
And while he may have already achieved his over-arching goal for the season, he would love to cap it off with a victory.
"The only thing I'm missing is a win," he said. "It's always great to win a golf tournament but hopefully I can just stay in the present more than anything.
"I've been doing a lot of work with my psychologist and we've used the phrase all year: staying on task. That's all you've got to do on every shot, is stay on task and be in that moment.
"I'll keep using the coping mechanisms that I've been using all year and we'll see where we end up at the end of the week."
