Michael Lorenzo-Vera’s recent upturn in form and attitude has come as no surprise to the man who has spent the last few months putting the finishing touches to a dramatic change of lifestyle in order to maximise his prodigious talent.
Gone are the long days and longer nights of partying in his hometown, the cosmopolitan, yet rugby and surf-mad town of Biarritz. Gone (mostly!) is the angry young man on the golf course. And gone is the lazy attitude towards his chosen profession.
A new coach (Mike Walker), a new psychologist and a new home have all led Lorenzo-Vera to reinvent himself, and, after two hugely encouraging Challenge Tour performances, no-one sums it up any better than the man himself.
“This is the new me,” said Lorenzo-Vera with his trademark grin. “I’m like the latest iPhone, but better. This is the new Michael Lorenzo: MLV, version 1.2!”
Thankfully, Lorenzo-Vera remains, in the right way, as mad as a hatter – he has just screwed his professional head firmly back in place as he seeks to finally fulfil the indisputable talent he displayed on his way to toping the Challenge Tour Rankings in 2007.
He has certainly made positive strides on the course over the past two weeks as the fruits of his year’s labour to date start to ripen. A tie for 13thin the Fred Olson Challenge de España was quickly followed up last week with a fourth place finish behind countryman Gary Stal at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda.
The young Frenchman has a noticeable spring in his step at the Aa St Omer Golf Club as he prepares for the dual-ranking St Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC.
“I am playing well – I just have to trust myself and trust the new things I have been doing. I have changed coach, changed everything in my approach to the game and I think it is starting to pay off.
“I had to make some changes because I was not working hard enough. I have changed everything – I have even moved away from Biarritz because I had to: it wasn’t good for me to live there because there were too many distractions.
“So now I am in Montpellier and working with a new team. I even have a mental coach but I have to say I think she is going to have to work hard to help me! But it is going well, I think. I am working on my attitude on the golf course because that has to change. It was fair to say that I was a mess mentally!”
Lorenzo-Vera credits his manager, Chubby Chandler, for helping him to realise that it was time to grow up; time to focus on getting the most of his gift for the game.
“I think I am just growing up a little bit and starting to realise that this is the only thing I know how to do well, so if I don’t want to be sleeping under a bridge then I had better start working hard,” the 27 year old continued.
“I have only one goal at the moment and that is to trust myself to go out on to the golf course as well prepared as possible in order to get me into the right frame of mind to attack the golf course and enjoy it. If I can do that then I believe I can get back onto The European Tour and succeed there.”
