Max Orrin has been the nearly-man more times than he cares to remember, and on the eve of the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final the Englishman occupies the 16thplace in the Rankings — one spot outside the top 15 and a European Tour card.
In his first three seasons on the European Challenge Tour between 2014 and 2016, the Englishman finished the season-long points race in 22nd, 21stand 21stplace respectively, agonisingly close to a graduation spot.
The 24 year old earned a playing category for the European Tour through Qualifying School in 2017, but a limited number of starts prevented him from retaining his status, leaving Orrin hungrier than ever to return to Europe’s top tier via the Challenge Tour.
“I’ve had a decent year, I’ve never been this high up going into the Grand Final, so there are lots of positives,” he said. “I’ve had some good finishes in the big events.”
Those good performances include a share of eighth at the season-opening Barclays Kenya Open, along with top fives in Sweden, Kazakhstan and most recently at the Foshan Open, where a tied third place finish moved him from 26thto 16thon the Road to Ras Al Khaimah.
The man from Margate admits he craves a promotion to the European Tour, but is determined to stick to his game plan, which means going for the win yet staying relaxed.
“It would be everything you know,” he said. “I’ve been close on a few occasions and I know what it’s like up there on the European Tour. I feel like the way I’ve played this year, I’ve taken a lot of positives and a lot of momentum into this week and hopefully I can do the job.
“I’ve got my brother here this week, so whatever is meant to be will be and as long as we’re having fun that’s all that matters, but I’ll have the same mindset this week as any other week, just try to win the tournament.”
Orrin will be armed with the advantage of local knowledge when he tees it up in tomorrow’s opening round. The Road to Ras Al Khaimah Number 16 is a combined 26 under par in his two Challenge Tour appearances at Al Hamra Golf Club, finishing in a tie for sixth in 2016 and tied seventh last year.
“I always play pretty well here and I’ve had some good finishes,” he said. “The coastal feel about it is similar to home and maybe the wind kind of plays into my hands a little bit.
“The course has gotten better and better through the years. The rough has been brought in a little bit on a few holes, and there’s tough stretches where you’ve got to play the percentages and take pars, but there are plenty of wedges into the greens which allows you to get at this course and make a score.
“It depends on the weather because sometimes it gets a bit windy around here but it’s a really good track and obviously it’s a great field this week so I’ve just got to go out and play some good golf.”
