On Sunday night, I had a dream. I don’t want to get carried away or give it more importance than it has. I mean, I’m not going to take any spotlight away from the great Martin Luther King. Mine is more mundane, everyday, something anecdotal, but in the situation I find myself in right now, where confidence isn’t exactly sky-high, everything helps and adds up.
I was playing a practice round somewhere in the world with Sergio García, I couldn’t identify the course or the tournament. At a certain moment, I said to Sergio, “you’ll see how next year I’m playing with you.” Obviously, I wasn’t specifically referring to LIV Golf, in case anyone was pondering and speculating, but rather to playing again at the highest level, with the best.
You will have seen that I wasn’t lying, it was silly, an anecdote, but for me, it has significant meaning. At least, as I see it, it means that deep in my head, in the most subconscious part of my brain, there is the conviction that I can and want to return to the elite. The desire. In my current situation, that’s not insignificant.
Right now, I’m in a period of searching. I want to play, I want to compete, and I’m trying to figure out where. As you know, I don’t have a card for the DP World Tour, Challenge Tour, or Asian Tour. In the Asian School, I missed having some category by one stroke, and it made me very angry. It seems I might be able to play something in the second division of Asia. We’ll see. I take this opportunity to thank Javier Reviriego, general manager of Valderrama, for getting me the invitation to play directly in the final of the Asian school. I’m also looking at other circuits like the Alps, Clutch Tour, Pro Golf, or Nordic League, although in some of them the different qualifying schools have already been held, and it’s not easy to find a spot.
At the same time, I’m trying to get invitations. It’s not easy either, but I hope to get some. I’m a player who hasn’t asked for many favours throughout my career. For now, what is certain is that I’m going to play the Winter Tour, whose first event was held this week at the Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf. There are three tournaments in January and another three in February. The best in the January ranking gets two invitations for the Challenge, and the same for the best in February. Whoever wins the overall ranking will receive an invitation to the DP World Tour. It’s a door that opens, and I’m going to try.
I know in any case that the first thing is to play golf well. If I regain my best level, I’m convinced I can take advantage of the opportunities, even if there aren’t many, and gradually return to the top level. I’ve started working with Jordi García del Moral. It was important for me to have someone close to home now, with whom I can work hand in hand. I have it clear, I want to keep competing, and I’m willing to put everything on the line to fulfil the dream I had.
