Scot Lloyd Saltman is hoping to draw inspiration from his close friend and Walker Cup team mate, Rhys Davies, as he looks to make a similar mark to the Welshman in Morocco this week.
Davies made his on The European Tour breakthrough in Morocco earlier this year when he captured the Trophée Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat.
That victory, combined with outstanding performances in Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, China, Madrid and his native Wales, has seen Davies accumulate €997,425 in earnings this season, moving him into fifth position in The Race to Dubai and making him a contender to join Europe’s Ryder Cup Team to face the USA at The Celtic Manor Resort in October.
Davies’ meteoric rise is best illustrated in one swift glance at the Official World Golf Ranking: he was 246th exactly one year ago; today, he is 45th.
Saltman, for one, is not in the least bit surprised by his friend’s rampaging rise to the top of the game, and after putting five missed cuts behind him last week in the Scottish Hydro Challenge, he is quietly confident he can follow Davies’ lead. It was not long ago that the Scot was being tipped for similar success, having won the Silver Medal at The 2005 Open Championship at St Andrews and played in the same Walker Cup team as Davies, Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett and former Challenge Tour Number David Horsey.
“I went to Scotland having missed five cuts in a row but I have changed a few things in my set-up and it is starting to feel good,” said Saltman.
“You just have to look at what Rhys has achieved in the last year to realise how quickly things can turn around in this game. This time last year Rhys didn’t even have a full category on the Challenge Tour, now you look at him and he has won close to €1 million.
“Rhys has always been a good player and he is always been the best putter in the world! What he has done is inspirational, especially to me.
“I know that I have the ability and the attitude to succeed – it is just a case of pulling it all together at the same time and then maintaining that form for a sustained period.”
