Adri Arnaus, Number One on the Alps Tour in 2017, will begin his 2018 European Challenge Tour campaign looking to build on his fine play from last season.
The Spaniard, who competed on the Alps Tour as an amateur in 2017, had quite the campaign. He played his way into three play-offs in his first four events. Drawing on his first two sudden-death experiences, Arnaus claimed his first victory in a professional event when he edged out France’s Gregoire Schoeb in extra holes to win the Villaverde Open.
The 23 year old did not look back. He followed his maiden victory with eight consecutive made cuts, which included a trio of top ten finishes, before ending his season in style with an impressive double—winning both the Alps Tour Grand Final and the Alps Tour Order of Merit to earn his Challenge Tour card for 2018.
The contemporary of current World Number Three Jon Rahm continued his run of form when he carded an 11 under par 61 during Second Stage at Desert Springs Resort in November 2017. Arnaus turned professional before Final Stage Q- School, and although he did not secure his European Tour card, Arnaus now knows that he can compete with the other emerging professionals in the game.
“When I started playing with professionals, first of all, I wanted to compare myself,” said Arnaus. “I realised that they were not that far from me.”
The Challenge Tour rookie does not have to look far for inspiration. England’s Matt Wallace, who won the European Tour’s Hero Indian Open earlier this month, serves as a fine example. Wallace came through the Alps Tour in 2016, and quickly had success on the Challenge Tour and the European Tour— winning the dual-ranking Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort, in May 2017.
With the taste of success still fresh for Arnaus, he will now look to replicate Wallace’s climb through the professional ranks.
“I’m really excited,” said Arnaus. “I think it’s going to be a great year. It’s going to be great for learning, and for putting some stuff in play that I have been working on this off-season, and as we go on, hopefully I can get it going and see if I can win.
“The European Tour is definitely the goal. I want to get in the top 15 of the Challenge Tour, but maybe I can get to the European Tour before that, either with three wins, or maybe playing a European Tour event and winning that.”
Arnaus is set to begin his first full year as a professional when he tees off in the opening event of the Challenge Tour International Schedule, the Barclays Kenya Open at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi, Kenya, this week.
