“One shot can mean everything.”
So said Joël Stalter on a dramatic final day of the 2016 European Challenge Tour season at the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, moments after he had secured 16th spot in the Road to Oman Rankings and, with it, the final European Tour card.
But for every success story in sport, there are many more nearly men left cursing their luck. And on this occasion, the ‘one shot’ Stalter referred to arguably belonged not to himself but to his compatriot, Adrien Saddier.
The Frenchman had found some inspired form right when it mattered at Al Mouj Golf, following a third round of 65 with five birdies and an eagle as, needing outright third place or better to overtake Stalter, he soared to the top end of the leaderboard.
A par on the last would have been enough for third, and a European Tour card to go with his maiden Challenge Tour win at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España earlier in the year.
However, a tugged tee shot and an approach into the greenside bunker left the 24 year old needing to get up-and-down – and a decent bunker shot still left him with a tricky 15 footer for that par.
“One shot can mean everything.”
The putt stayed up. Stalter graduated to the European Tour. And Saddier, unlucky number 17 on last year’s Road to Oman, is at Muthaiga Golf Club for the start of a new Challenge Tour season at the Barclays Kenya Open.
“I knew on the 18th that my putt was very important,” he said. “I’d looked at the leaderboard and I knew that I had to knock it in, so I was disappointed right after that, but later when I took five minutes to think about the season, I knew it was a good one.
“I had a great week in Oman, shooting 65-66 with only one bogey, and I knew I needed a huge weekend to make that top three, but I just had a bogey on the last – that hole is not the easiest hole, though, so that’s how golf is.
“I had my first win and I only missed one cut all year, and I’d made a lot of swing changes two years ago so I was happy to have some good results with my new swing, so probably two weeks after Oman I was able to be happy with my year.”
That Saddier’s 2016, which consisted of one victory, two further top threes and no missed cuts since the start of June, was not quite good enough for European Tour graduation reflects how competitive the Challenge Tour has become, a fact he is quick to point out.
“There are so many good guys out here now,” he said. “Especially the players coming off the satellite tours – you see how Aaron Rai did last year, and Matthieu Pavon was Alps Tour, so was Damien Perrier.
“The level there is better each year and as a result so is the level of the Challenge Tour, and that can only be a good thing.”
After a few outings on the European Tour during the winter break, Saddier is looking forward to a good start to the season in Nairobi as he bids to put last year’s heartbreak behind him and enjoy another strong campaign on the Road to Oman.
“It’s been a nice break. I’ve rested a lot, I didn’t play too much in December and January and I started playing in Australia and South Africa on the European Tour, so I feel good – rested and ready.
“This is a special place. It’s the first event on the Challenge Tour so you can’t miss it and I’m just here to hopefully get a good result and enjoy the week.”
