Wil Besseling may be in the enviable position of holding a top 20 spot in the European Challenge Tour Rankings, but as number 20 on the list he is also the man over 100 players are trying to chase down in the race for a European Tour card.
The Dutchman sneaked ahead of Max Kieffer and into the all-important top 20 after the Rolex Trophy but only by a mere €235 as October’s season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final creeps ever closer.
With two very important weeks ahead on the Challenge Tour schedule, beginning with this week’s M2M Russian Challenge Cup and followed by the lucrative Kazakhstan Open next week, Besseling knows it could be a crucial fortnight but is loath to push the panic button just yet if things don’t go his way.
“It would be nice to have two good weeks, here and Kazakhstan, but obviously there are six more weeks after that,” said the 26 year old. “Because of the big prize money in the next two weeks, if it happens, it’s nice but if it doesn’t there are six more weeks to go so it’s not panic stations for me.
“This tournament in Russia is totally different to Kazakhstan. If we’re lucky with the weather it can be alright but it can get cold and rainy here so it can be tough.
“Kazakhstan on the other hand is totally different. The weather looks to be really good next week so it’s a lot warmer and it’s an easier course too so I hope to make the best of both weeks.”
Having started the year as a European Tour player, Besseling opted, earlier than most, to return to the Challenge Tour in search of a better card for next season’s Race to Dubai and believes that, after boosting his chances to no end with high finishes at the St Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC and the Finnish Challenge, his decision has proven justified.
“After the first re-rank I went down the list, which only got me in five to seven European Tour events so there was a decision for me to make,” he said. “After I finished tied fourth at Saint Omer, it got me up on the Challenge Tour Rankings and that helped me make my decision to go with the Challenge Tour.
“Of course, The European Tour is where you want to play but sometimes you have to make the decision to do well enough here to be back on the European Tour with a better category last year.
“The runner up finish in Finland was nice. You need to have some high finishes and it’s nice to have made the decision and see that it was a good one.”
