Matteo Cristoni makes his debut in China at this week’s Hainan Open having found his form over the last few weeks on the Road to Mallorca.
In his rookie season on the HotelPlanner Tour, the Italian entered September’s Open de Portugal in 59th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and nervously looking over his shoulder at the top 70 bubble that receive full playing rights for 2027.
But a sixth-place finish in Portugal and a third-place finish in Abu Dhabi have seen Cristoni fly up to 27th in the Rankings. With the 24-year-old finding form at the right time of the season, he says improvements to his long-game are the reason for his recent success.
“I’ve just been swinging it better the last couple of weeks,” he said. “I hit it a little straighter from the tee and found more of the fairways and that’s made me more consistent over the last couple of weeks for sure.
“Now my goal is to keep playing the way I’ve been playing, trying to hit one shot at a time and not thinking too far ahead. That’s pretty much it, just try to play golf and enjoy it.
“I’ve played really well this season, but obviously with three events left it could always be better so I’m here to play my best.”
Cristoni has shown his pedigree across the 2026 season, having played the Alps Tour in 2025 and started the current term on the MENA Tour.
The Italian has made 14 out of 18 cuts since making the switch to the HotelPlanner Tour, registering four top ten finishes as well as an 11th place on his DP World Tour debut at the Open d’Italia in June.
He says he has been pleased at his ability to cope with the higher level and is learning from those around him including Chris Wood, who he crossed paths with on the MENA Tour and completed a practice round with in China on Wednesday.
“It’s a completely different environment,” he added. “But I just need to play my own game and try and compete hard and see where my golf is going to take me.
“I try to take some positives from everybody that I play with, especially someone who has the knowledge and experience of Chris Wood.”
It is Cristoni’s first time in China, but he enters the first event of the Final Swing treating it like any normal event.
“The course seems pretty straightforward this week, the fairways are pretty generous so you need to be aggressive with the second shot and try and make some putts.
“It’s my first time here. The course is in immaculate condition, one of the best of the season. China is a little bit different to what I’m used to but I’m just going to try and enjoy it as much as I can.
“It’s a play-off this week but at the end of the day it’s another tournament, so I will tee off as normal on Thursday and see how we go from there.”
Sitting 27th in the Rankings, Cristoni is within sight of the top 15 and the DP World Tour status that goes along with it, but the Italian says that this is not the key focus this week.
“I sometimes think about the DP World Tour, you do think about it, but it’s not the first thing that I’m going to think about in the morning.
“I’m just trying to do my thing every day and see at the end of the week where I’m going to be at.”
Cristoni makes up part of a strong field this week in China that includes fellow former MENA Tour member Chris Wood, along with the top 68 available players from the Road to Mallorca Rankings and 50 China Tour players.
The Italian tees off in Thursday’s opening round at 7:25am local time alongside Belgian Matthis Besard and China’s Yue Liu.
