Tom Lewis hopes to follow up his fantastic Portugal Masters triumph with another good showing at the Castelló Masters.
The 20 year old Englishman won on only his third professional outing last week and now hopes a similar showing at Club de Campo del Mediterráneo can propel him towards the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
Last year’s Castellón champion Matteo Manassero was rookie of the year last season following his Spanish win, and Lewis knows back-to-back wins would make him a serious contender.
“I hope it’s going to be a good week,” he said. “It’s my first time here, I’m enjoying it. Last year there was a young winner, I expect there to be a young winner this year too.”
Lewis’ meteoric rise to fame has led to comparisons with another famous golfer from Welwyn Garden City – six-time Major winner Nick Faldo.
“I’d like to win the Rookie of the Year Award but it’s a long way to beat Faldo,” he added. “If I carry on winning, who knows what will happen in the future. Being the second best player in the club is still good.
“If I perform like last week I have a big chance. After winning the Portugal Masters I got home at 2:30 am and went to sleep. I got a text message from Darren Clarke, he said he was really pleased for me and I really appreciated it.”
Lewis has been paired with Manassero and tournament host Sergio Garcia, who had some words of wisdom for his playing partner.
“Tomorrow I have a very good draw, two young stars and good people - it’s going to be a good week,” said the former World Number Two.
“Advice for Tom? Tom knows that you need to be surrounded by good people. We all work hard, we need to be humble. You have to believe in your abilities and yourself. He needs to do the right things and I think he is doing them at the moment.”
Garcia and Lewis played with Spanish tennis star Rafa Nadal in Wednesday’s pro-am, and the French Open champion enjoyed the opportunity to switch sports.
“Tom winning on his third tournament is admirable,” he said. “It’s been really nice to play with Sergio and friends. It’s been fun - we got better as we went along.
“It’s been a great day for enjoying golf. I’m playing better than last year.”
