Julien Quesne will enter this week’s Rolex Trophy at Golf Club de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland, hoping the fond memories of his only European Challenge Tour win at the same venue two years ago can inspire him to a shot at the title.
The Frenchman sealed his maiden victory in 2009 as he shot a final round of 66 to beat Edoardo Molinari by one shot and claim what was a perfect birthday present on the day he turned 29.
“I have very good memories of this tournament and I really like the course,” said Quesne. “Because it was my birthday and my girlfriend was also there, it was a particularly beautiful day.”
Quesne finished eighth in the Challenge Tour Rankings that year to claim a European Tour card for 2010 but he was unable to make a significant impression and lost his card.
He is coming back into form in the Challenge Tour this year, however, and finished tied ninth at the ECCO Tour Championship presented by Thomas Björn and Mercedes Benz last week, his fifth top 20 this season.
“I am playing well at the moment,” he continued, “I was a little bit disappointed last weekend that I finished badly on the final round but I’m going to stay patient and I am confident that I can pick up some good results and finish the year in the top ten of the Rankings.”
The 31 year old currently sits in 31st place on the Challenge Tour Rankings and he will be hoping to join the 2011 Challenge Tour’s ‘French Revolution’ by claiming a second career victory this week.
Five of the 17 Challenge Tour events this year have been won by Frenchmen, with Anthony Snobeck’s victory at the Mugello Tuscany Open in May setting the ‘ballon’ rolling.
Edouard Dubois won twice in a month at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda and Scottish Hydro Challenge in June before Benjamin Hebert bettered that feat by winning two in a row at the Credit Suisse Challenge and English Challenge in July.
The English, however, have put up a stern challenge to France’s dominance on tour in 2011 with Daniel Denison’s superb win last week at Lübker Golf Resort putting him just ahead of Jamie Moul at second place in the Rankings.
Denison was the third Englishman to win on the Challenge Tour this year after Philip Archer, who won the ALLIANZ Open Cotes d'Armor – Bretagne in France in June, and 2011 Acaya Open champion Moul.
Indeed, England is the most dominant nation in the Challenge Tour Rankings top 20 as Jamie Elson (tenth), Chris Gane (13th) and Chris Lloyd (19th) also remain in place to earn European Tour cards next year.
The Rolex Trophy, with a limited field of 40, carries one of the biggest prize funds on the Challenge Tour, of €218,000, and could therefore be crucial for many players with regard to their Rankings positions.
Denison knows all about the importance of winning at this stage of the season after he climbed 11 places from 13th to second place in the Rankings thanks to the €25,600 prize he won at the ECCO Tour Championship presented by Thomas Björn and Mercedes Benz.
André Bossert is the only home player in the field this week after he gained an exemption as the leading Swiss in the Challenge Tour’s top 100.
