Filippo Celli came to international attention at the Home of Golf. This week, on his BMW PGA Championship debut, he hopes to offer a reminder of his talent at the home of the DP World Tour.
In 2022, during a summer to remember for the Italian, he became just the second golfer from his country to win the Silver Medal as the leading amateur at The Open Championship over the famed Old Course at St Andrews.
Coming either side of winning the European Amateur Championship and team success for Italy at the Eisenhower Trophy, Celli soon after made his debut as a professional on home soil at his national open on the DP World Tour.
Four years on, almost exactly to the day, he takes his place in a star-studded international field at the Wentworth Club for the latest step on his journey in the paid ranks that has already brought with it highs, lows and learnings.
"Compared to being an amateur, when you're a pro, and I don't like to describe it this way, but it's a job for us," he tells the DP World Tour.
"It's still a game, but obviously it's a job too. The responsabilities are different, sometimes heavier as well.
"But I don't feel that added pressure [due to his amateur success] because I feel very lucky for my career so far.
"I also try to enjoy the bad periods of my life. I try to go forward with a smile and be happy because I feel that I am a lucky person.
"Especially in golf, things can change very quick week by week."
Celli is a firm believer in the mantra: trust the process.
While he acknowledges, the ongoing season on the DP World Tour - his second at this level - has proved a struggle, there is a belief, from both within and those around him, that he will soon be rewarded.
"With my coach Søren Hansen (a former DP World Tour and European Ryder Cup player) and the rest of my team, I just have to be patient and believe in what we are doing," he explains.
"I feel that very soon, we are going to achieve what we want."
It was only last month, that the 26-year-old celebrated his career-best result on golf's global tour as he finished tied second at the Danish Golf Championship.
That performance, supported by a share of 15th place at the Corales Puntacana Championship prior to the summer break in the Race to Dubai schedule, has helped Celli to earn his spot over the world-renowned West Course as the top ranked player on the Closing Swing Rankings not already exempt.
After a season that saw him miss eight of his first nine cuts, Celli has faced his hurdles but he is still standing ahead of a season run-in that will decide where he is playing next year.
"The most difficult part for me is staying patient," he says.
"I, like most of us, am very competitive so it's not easy to be to be patient when things are not going well because I want to win really soon.
"So, I have struggled with that over the past months but now I'm trying to learn that it means I just have to keep working.
"That's why Denmark was a very good week for me, to recover the confidence that I lost at the beginning of the season. I have struggled this year for any consistency, but I believe I'm now back on the right path."
His return to a Major Championship for the first time as a professional at the U.S. Open in June made him all the more committed to maximising his potential.
Having secured his place via 36-hole qualifying at Walton Heath, being around the world's best at Shinnecock Hills further fuelled his hunger.
After an opening 75, he showed resolve and ability to bounce back with an even-par 70 on day two that saw him miss the cut by one shot.
I have struggled this year for any consistency, but I believe I'm now back on the right path
"It was a huge week personally for me to understand how the best practise," he explains.
"I had that chance at St Andrews when I was an amateur, but when you are a pro it counts for more.
"I understand that I can compete because I missed the cut, losing a lot of strokes on the greens. I wasn't far away with my ball striking to be there at the weekend.
"Even though the week didn't go the way I wanted, I still took confidence from it. It was a very good experience."
And sometimes in life and elite sport, you have to suffer at first to make progress.
In 2023, Celli first earned his DP World Tour card through Qualifying School after coming through two stages, finishing runner-up to Germany's Freddy Schott at INFINITUM in Spain.
At the end of his first full year in the paid ranks, the achievement by the then 23-year-old came ahead of time.
"It all came very quickly," he reflects. "I was not expecting it because I wasn't playing my best at the time but sometimes this is golf. Even when you are not feeling, one week can change everything.
"I was very proud, because after just one year as a professional to earn my DP World Tour card was a dream."
Midway through his rookie season, Celli registered three consecutive top tens across events in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
But a summer break in the schedule soon after halted his momentum, and across his next nine starts he missed eight cuts.
From being inside the mark to retain his playing rights via the Race to Dubai after the BMW International Open in early July, his loss of form saw him slide to 137th ahead of the final regular event of the campaign in South Korea.
Despite then finishing 28th at the Genesis Championship, he was soon faced with the reality of dropping down to the HotelPlanner Tour after coming short of regaining his card via Qualifying School.
It's a period that Celli has regrets over.
"That year, there were some mistakes I made. I didn't practise the way I should during the summer break," he recalls.
"It helped me to understand that at this level, it's not just talent you require but also you have to keep working because every year the level of golf is improving."
It's with that attitude that Celli got back to work on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Back-to-back top tens across a double header in the United Arab Emirates early in the year provided the platform for a successful campaign on the Road to Mallorca that was to only get better.
After finishing runner-up in Austria, the first of three top fives in four starts, Celli won his first title as a professional at The Dutch Futures to all but secure his return to the DP World Tour.
"The HotelPlanner Tour is good at preparing you for the next step," he added.
"Obviously, it was a very good year for me because I had my first win. I have always retained my confidence so far, and I hope to not ever lost it.
"The level on the HotelPlanner Tour is very good too, so you have to be ready to compete, and I was.
"Now, I just have to turn things my way [again] because I know I have the level to compete on the DP World Tour."
Where better then to show just that than on the Rolex Series stage at the BMW PGA Championship.
"I'm trying to be happy, enjoy the moment because at some point it's going to turn my way, definitely," he says.
"Especially in this generation, we want everything now... but I'm trying to remain patient and keep working and wait that the results come to me."
