Santiago Tarrio has been in a class of his own this year on the European Challenge Tour as he sits in pole position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings with 127,493 points.
The Spaniard is 52,916 points ahead of closest challenger Marcel Siem, who recently won Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge and enjoyed a good week at The Open.
The 30-year-old began the season with solid performances during the South African Swing including a sixth placed finish at the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open.
After returning to Europe, Tarrio came out on top in a three-way play-off at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge to claim his maiden Challenge Tour title, a victory which propelled him onto further success.
That started on home soil at the Spanish Swing with a third placed finish in the Challenge de Cádiz followed by a one-stroke victory in the Challenge de España at Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri, picking up his second title in the space of three weeks.
Tarrio continued his fine form with a tie for fourth at the Open de Bretagne, tie for fifth at Le Vaudreuil Challenge and a tie for fourth at last week’s Italian Challenge, which saw Ricardo Gouveia return to the winner’s circle for the first time in six years.
His scintillating run of form means he has six top five finishes in his last seven starts and has all but guaranteed his European Tour playing rights for next season.
The two-time Challenge Tour winner is looking to join an exclusive club by adding a third win of the year to his victories at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge and the Challenge de España and subsequently earn automatic graduation to the European Tour. The last players to achieve such a feat were Kim Koivu in 2018 and Aaron Rai in 2017, the latter of whom has gone on to win two European Tour titles.
Tarrio has continually paid tribute to the team around him throughout the season and believes his new mental coach has enabled him to take his game to the next level by staying calm under pressure in the latter stages of tournaments.
The Spaniard tees it up on the European Tour this week in Northern Ireland at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management as he looks to get a flavour of what is to come next season.
