Nicolai von Dellingshausen has spoken of the importance of learning from his "nightmare" season after missing his 15th cut of the campaign at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid.
In an incredibly honest Instagram post published after round two at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, the German opened up on feeling "lost, frustrated, sad, angry and absolutely clueless" over his golf.
Von Dellingshausen has taken the long route to the DP World Tour, winning three events on the Pro Golf Tour in 2017 to earn his place on the European Challenge Tour, where he has nine top tens.
His Challenge Tour category earned him 14 DP World Tour starts in 2021 and he took full advantage, finishing 119th on the Rankings in a season where the top 121 secured full playing privileges.
He finished 75th the following season but in 2023 sits 167th, with 15 missed cuts, one withdrawal and a best finish of tied 32nd in 25 events including this week.
"To be bluntly honest: this season couldn’t have been worse in my worst nightmares so far," he wrote after missing his eighth cut in his last 11 events.
"People that know me a little bit usually see me as positive thinking kind of guy. But now feeling lost, frustrated, sad, angry and absolutely clueless are the right words to describe my state of mind as of late.
"The strange thing is that - for a while now - the quality of my game and the scores at the end of the day don’t seem to match up.
"I play golf for long enough now to know that this can and will happen every now and again. Sometimes you score better, sometimes you score worse - all part of the process.
"But when over weeks and even months I seem to do everything right and am just patiently waiting for that one putt to drop to change the momentum towards the better… but it just doesn’t happen… it’s tough not to let it get to you.
"In retrospect I’ve made decisions this year that I wouldn’t do again knowing what I know now. Nevertheless these decisions have taught valuable lessons - painful, frustrating, demanding - but valuable more than anything for the future of my career.
"What we usually see on this platform are the highlights or usually the positive side of things.
"But it’s not how life works. There is ups and there is downs. Right now I feel in a down. And I feel it’s important to share these moments as well.
"I’m beyond grateful for my job, for what I’m doing and everything that comes with it - including these emotions and down phases.
"Thanks for reading and for your support so far!"
Von Dellingshausen now has two more weeks to get a win or the positive results that could catapult him into the top 116 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and keep his card for next season.
After his remarkable honesty in Madrid, every golf fan will be rooting for him.
