Niccolo Quintarelli returns to the venue where he came agonisingly close to sealing a maiden European Challenge Tour title two years ago, hoping that he can rekindle that form once again at this week’s Swiss Challenge presented by Association Suisse de Golf.
In 2014, the Italian came within millimetres of forcing a play-off with eventual winner Pierre Relecom, his six foot birdie putt lipping out after a superb approach to the final green.
This is the 27 year old’s fourth successive full season on Europe’s top developmental tour and that season was the closest he has come both to victory and to graduating to the European Tour, finishing 37th in the Road to Oman.
After struggling with his form last year, Quintarelli believes he is approaching his best once again and a return to the scene of his best Challenge Tour finish at the picturesque Golf Sempachersee near Lucerne might just provide the spark that he needs to reignite his hopes of graduation.
“It’s the only tournament where I got really close to winning,” said Quintarelli. “Maybe one other time but not as close. That birdie putt, it was maybe one of the best putts I’ve hit it my life, but it didn’t break.
“I remember two years ago I just arrived at the course on Wednesday morning for the Pro-Am. The first day of the tournament I went to the course 30 minutes before tee-off, hit ten balls very quickly and hit some putts, and then I was six under after ten!
“I was comfortable and I knew I had good confidence because I was coming off the back of a final round 66 the week before in Slovakia. I was playing well and I chilled out in my house for two days before going to Switzerland. Then I played perfect.
“I’m not going to do the same this year but I think I’ll be fine. I won’t be stressed because my game is going well now. It’s a slow start to the season, three cuts but not breaking through. I just need a good weekend to try move up the Rankings.
“I’m confident – it’s a course I like, my game is in good shape and I’ve got a good feeling about it so let’s see how it goes. I’m playing OK, striking the ball well finally after a year of struggling with that part of my game. Let’s see if I can do something good this week."
This will be the seventh consecutive time the popular Golf Sempachersee hosts the Swiss Challenge, which has a history dating back to 2000 and counts Rafa Cabrera Bello as a former winner, and it is a course which in recent years has become more challenging than ever. Quintarelli believes it is a very fair test of golf and he is looking forward to taking on that challenge once again.
“The course last year was very different to the year before,” he said. “Last year, the rough was very thick and I think the winning score was around 11 under. The year before I finished 14 under and didn’t win.
“I think it’s a fair course. It’s one were you need to hit a lot of fairways, especially with the thick rough. The greens can get hard although I think they are expecting rain but they are still tricky greens.
“I really like the course because if you play well, you can score low, but if you play average you can score very high. It’s a testing course, very challenging and has a good filter for those players who are not playing well.”
