Dec. 16, 2004 – After a hugely successful sojourn into Latin America for the beginning of the 2005 European Challenge Tour season, England’s Richard McEvoy has re-instilled the confidence and self belief required to secure a return to The European Tour via the Challenge Tour Rankings.
McEvoy took the Panasonic Panama Open title a fortnight ago as the Challenge Tour teamed up with the Tour de las Americas for the first three events on the 2005 Schedule.
His maiden Challenge Tour victory rounded off a hectic 12 month period for the 25 year old, which began with him leading The 2004 European Tour’s Omega Hong Kong Open after two rounds last December and ended with a Challenge Tour victory in Panama.
In Hong Kong, the Englishman strode to the top of the halfway leader board, buoyed by his victory at the 2003 Qualifying School Finals which had won him a European Tour Card for 2004, but did not follow through on the weekend. A year on in Panama, he rediscovered the confidence that had taken him to such prominence in the first place and put the experience to good use by going on to take the title.
The victory – coupled with a 14th place finish at the 47th Abierto Mexicano de Golf – saw him earn €27,757 in just two weeks and moved him to second place on the Challenge Tour Rankings behind Number One Rafael Gomez of Argentina. “Obviously I am well pleased to have started the season so well,” said McEvoy. “It was nice to win early in the season and it has brought the confidence back which I think is the key factor in golf at the top level.
“I lost a lot of confidence over the last year because I wasn’t doing well at points and it is amazing how much that affects your golf. I knew that I was good enough and had the ability to play on the main Tour but when the belief isn’t there it becomes very difficult.
“I learned a hell of a lot on the main Tour. The first thing you notice is just how good you need to be to stay out there. I have practiced a bit with guys like Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, who I played in the Walker Cup with, and these guys are just exceptional now. They play to such a high level every week and that is the difference.
“I did that in 2003 on the Challenge Tour. I played consistently for the whole season and finished 19th on the Rankings and now I want to be able to do that on The European Tour.
“I will have to win my Card through the Challenge Tour to get back but I believe I can do that. Having played the Challenge Tour and then the main Tour, I think coming back will be easier in certain aspects. There is a sense of having been there and done it and I think I have improved as player as well, so hopefully it will be easier. Getting the victory in Panama so early is a huge boost.”
McEvoy was the only European winner in Latin America, with the other two titles – the 47th Abierto Mexicano de Golf and the TIM Peru Open – being respectively won by Gomez and Brad Sutterfield of the USA.
With another three events planned to take place in the region in February, it is clear that the partnership between the Challenge Tour and the Tour de las Americas is growing and strengthening – much like McEvoy’s self belief.
“I think that the events in Latin America are getting better and better,” he said. “I was over there two years ago when the Challenge Tour first went there and there have been massive improvements in that time in terms of everything from the running of the events to the prize funds. I’m looking forward to getting back out there in February and hopefully picking up from where I left off.”
Source: The PGA European Tour
