The world of professional golf is so peculiar that it has its own rhythms. The games are slow, the seasons are long and the players’ careers extend into their sixties, in many cases.
However, it is worth differentiating between what happens to gifted people such as Jon Rahm or Sergio Garcíawho debuted directly with triumphs in their first championships in the United States and Europe, or the trajectory that the rest of us live. Unless they have a very bright projection from amateurs, which generates invitations in their initial steps as pros, the usual thing is that they have to go through the schools of the different circuits (the usual thing for the Spanish are the Alps, the Challenge and the European) and then hone their skills in their tournaments depending on the card they get. Logically, it is easier to start with the third division and then go up the steps.
The Spanish Federation is aware of the need for this promotion, and that is why they support it through the ProSpain program, which provides scholarships for golfers in their first steps in the world of competition. «For us the Alps Tour It is a very appropriate place to train, because the kids learn to move on their own in very different fields and difficult environments, without a federative mantle that covers them like when they were on the national teams. That’s why we invest a lot of money in them and in organizing tournaments in Spain. This way they have the opportunity to play and we can also exchange invitations with other countries so that they can then go abroad,” says Pablo Bernárdez, director of the Professionals Committee.
Thanks to this support, the businessman Javier Gervas It can organize Alps Tour tournaments such as the one in Andalusia or the one in Las Castillas, which increasingly have a greater return. «Thanks to our tests in recent years, players of the caliber of Adri Arnaus and Ángel Hidalgo, both winners of the DP World Tour, and many others who are competing on the circuit have emerged. It is where they begin their professional careers and measure themselves to decide if professional golf is their path forward. Since we started, the level of competition has risen considerably and we are lucky to experience the first victories of the great players of the future,” says the promoter.
A category level
Due to the formative characteristics of the circuit, which has just celebrated the final of its 50th Anniversary, any similarity with the others is dizzying. The prizes are ridiculous (6,000 euros to win, when in the challenge they are around 40,000 and in the European, 400,000); Trips and accommodations are shared among several people and in tournaments there are no caddies or television. That’s why it’s such a good ladder to learn from. «When I became pro after having been national amateur champion twice, I believed that my change of category would be a triumphant ride: that I would easily win in the Alps, in the challenge and that later he would quickly triumph in the European,” acknowledges Hidalgo. «However, in my first weeks at the Alps I already realized that the level was higher than I assumed and the three years I spent there I suffered a lot, I couldn’t even make the cuts. This is how I learned to change my mentality and, fortunately, in the last one I won twice and I prepared myself for what came next (another title in the Challenge and the Spanish Open this year),” explains the man from Malaga proudly.
This path, however, must be followed by each person in their own way. In the case of Catalan Albert Bonetasuccess came to him last summer in Lerma, still in the amateur category, quite an experience. «It was very stressful; Life as a pro is completely different, but winning there meant seeing that I could compete among them and secure the card for next year. For his part, a month ago it was Alejandro Aguilera from Madrid who took the victory in Italy, shortly after his promotion. «From now on many doors are opening for me. “I am very excited,” he said. Although for Mario Galiano’s excitement, it took him seven years to win after traveling half the world. “I no longer remembered what victory tasted like,” he joked.
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