Spaniard Alvaro Velasco will bid to earn instant promotion to The European Tour when he tees up at this week’s inaugural M2M Russian Challenge Cup.
Velasco secured his second title of the season at last week’s Kazakhstan Open, meaning a third victory in Russia this week would secure an immediate return to the top tier for the Spaniard, who lost his playing privileges last year.
The current Rankings leader said: “I had a little celebration on Sunday night with the other Spanish and south American players, and now it’s back to business with Russia. I’m playing well and I’m feeling very confident, so hopefully I can win again this week and get straight onto The European Tour.
“The aim at the start of the season was to get my card back, and now that I’ve achieved that I can really enjoy the rest of the season. I learned a lot about myself and my game last year and again this year, so hopefully when I get back on the main Tour next year, I’ll be a better player. My goal now is to win on The European Tour – I can’t wait to get back out there.”
The M2M Russian Challenge Cup will comprise a field of 132 players, including 112 from the Challenge Tour – the top 100 in the Rankings, plus a further 12 players from categories – and 20 Russian invitations and amateurs.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the current Vice President of the Russian Golf Association and former World Number One tennis player who will compete in the €175,000 tournament, is excited at the prospect of seeing how some of his native country’s brightest young golfing talent fares against the cream of the Challenge Tour.
He said: “It was great when the Russian Open was being played, but unfortunately due to the financial crisis it dropped off the schedule. Fortunately the sponsors and promoters of the Russian Challenge Cup came up with some money to put the tournament on, so we have to be very grateful to them. It’s great to have a Challenge Tour event back in Russia and I’m really looking forward to the week.
“There are about four or five guys aged around 16 who are very talented players for their age, so it’ll be good to see how they cope with the pressure of competing against some of the best young players in the world on the Challenge Tour. It’ll be a great experience for them and I hope they’re as excited about it as I am.”
The stunning Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club, which is located 50km to the north of the Russian capital Moscow, will host the inaugural event.
Described by 18-time Major Champion Jack Nicklaus as “one of the top ten courses I have built so far”, the 7,491 yards, par 72 course, which opened in 2008, is the first Nicklaus Design course to be built in Russia.
The signature hole is the par four seventh, featuring a blind tee shot to a downhill fairway which dog legs from right to left. The green is well protected by a water hazard to the front, and two bunkers on either side.
Nicklaus said: “We hope the players get as much enjoyment from playing the golf course at Tseleevo as we did from designing it. Tseleevo is a great source of pride for me and my design team. It’s not only our first golf course in Russia, but we believe it also stands as a testament to the quality and great potential of the game in this country.
"We believe Tseleevo is as pleasing to the golfer’s eye as it is challenging to their game. I think those players who are fortunate enough to compete in the M2M Russian Challenge Cup will really enjoy the experience, and hopefully find it to be a memorable one.”
The tournament will mark the Challenge Tour’s first visit to Russia since Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg won the dual-ranking Russian Open at Le Meridien Moscow Country Club in 2005.
The former Russian Open was a Challenge Tour event between 1996 and 2002, before gaining dual-ranking status with The European Tour until 2005, and then full European Tour status from 2006-2008.
