Tjaart Van der Walt is hoping he can bring back some of the “magic” which almost earned him a maiden title in Europe as he returns to Aa Saint Omer Golf Club for the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open.
As a full Challenge Tour event, this week represents a huge tournament for those players on the second tier as they battle it out for the €200,000 prize fund.
For Van der Walt, it represents an opportunity to go one better than last year, when he lost out to Ireland’s Simon Thornton in a play-off, and earn a first Challenge Tour victory.
The South African has made the cut in all but three of his 11 European Tour events this year and tied 12th place finishes at both the NH Collection Open and Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI mean he is in a strong position in the Challenge Tour Rankings, in 31st place.
Another good result in France this week could move the Pretorian into the all-important top 15 and he is hopeful that his suitability to the course can help give him some renewed momentum.
“It’s a course that suits my eye,” said the 39 year old. “Last year was the first time I had played it and I really enjoyed it. There were a couple of greens that were almost too tough but the rest were really good and it suits my game. I hit it straight off the tee and hit my irons well.
“I've got a good friend on the bag for next week so maybe we can produce some magic again.
“I had a lot of good momentum going into this event last year and this year I'm a little off the boil, to be completely honest, but I've got to keep fighting and hopefully I can turn things around this time.
“Conditions can be quite harsh there but I think Europe is due to have a nice summer so maybe we’ll get some nice weather down there and we can play some consistent golf without having to worry too much about the weather.
“Although - if it’s going to be windy and cold - I play well in those conditions. It makes me concentrate a little more and play a little harder so who knows.”
A disappointing final round of 74 meant Van der Walt slipped from 19th position to tied 32nd on the final day of the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity but he is confident he can turn things around soon.
“At the moment I'm playing a couple of good holes at a time, then a couple of bad holes,” he said. “In Austria I started with a double on one day and with a triple on another so you have to fight back from early on and at the end of the round you feel you’ve really worked hard.
“Maybe next week I can get rid of some of those mistakes and focus a little harder. There’s no answer to all of this but if it’s there it’s there.”
Van der Walt joins an all-star Challenge Tour cast at Saint Omer, with Moritz Lampert arriving in the hope that he can claim his third title in four weeks and earn automatic promotion to The European Tour, after earning his second title at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España.
He is joined by the four other winners of the regular Challenge Tour events from the 2014 season – Thomas Linard (D+D Real Czech Challenge), Oliver Farr (Turkish Airlines Challenge), Antonio Hortal (Challenge de Catalunya) and Jake Roos (Barclays Kenya Open).
Former European Tour winners in the field include Welshmen Rhys Davies and Bradley Dredge, as well as Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl, while former Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson also plays.
Meanwhile, promising young Frenchman Joel Stalter makes his professional debut on home soil after a stellar amateur career, particularly in American collegiate golf where he represented University of California.
