Pablo Ereño will play this week in the first International Series of his career. It will also be the first International Series of this season on the Asian Tour. Likewise, it is the first time he has played in Japan. It is the first time he has even been to Japan. Many debuts and a lot of excitement. The Madrid native is delighted with the experience, although he does not lose sight of this season’s number one objective. An objective, by the way, that he has very well on track.
The International Series in Japan is played at the Caledonian Golf Club in Chiba. At this time of year the cherry trees are in full bloom and Ereño confesses it is quite a spectacle. “I had never been here and I am loving it. It’s a super country. People are very respectful and friendly. The course is very nice, it’s the perfect time of year and the layout is very good. It is true that it rained on Tuesday and Wednesday and the greens have become more receptive. Before the rain, when they were firmer, it was a great test. We’ll see now,” he tells Ten Golf.
Pablo is going to contest his first International Series with an invitation. It is another route to build a career. As you know, the top players on this circuit gain playing rights on LIV Golf, a truly significant prize. In any case, for now this is a one-off foray into the Asian Tour and time will tell what the future holds. Obviously, a good result could change things, but the Spaniard is clear that his circuit right now and his main objective is called the HotelPlanner Tour.
Although he started the year without circuit category, Pablo has made excellent use of the early invitations. In fact, he is currently seventh on the Road to Mallorca, an excellent ranking. Thanks to his performances at the start of the season, Ereño has opened up two routes to already play almost the full schedule. The first is by obtaining the same points or more than the player who finished last year in 75th place on the Road to Mallorca. Once he reaches that figure he will have access to an unlimited number of invitations. He is well on track, since he needs just over 40 points.
The other route is the re-ranking that takes place from June. From that point a new category to enter tournaments on the circuit called 3C opens. This category opens the door to the three best on the Road to Mallorca who are inside the top 45 and who do not already have a category to play that week. Right now, with four tournaments remaining before the 3C category comes into effect, Pablo is very well positioned.
In any case, the golfer who trained at the University of UCLA remembers that his main objective, more than anything else, is to finish the year inside the top 15 of the Road to Mallorca to secure a DP World Tour card. It is priority number one and most of the eggs are in that basket. It is the main roadmap, although, as always, it can be adjusted on the fly depending on results.
This week it’s time to enjoy Japan and the International Series. His immersion in Japanese culture has been total. In fact, this week he will play with a local caddie. “It’s been very interesting and fun. We communicate with gestures and thanks to google translate,” says the Madrid native.
Beyond Pablo, the main names of the week in Japan are Richar T. Lee, Yosuke Asaji, both from LIV Golf, Kazuki Higa, the highest-ranked player in the world in the tournament, or Wooyoung Cho, the current leader of the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. Also competing are John Catlin, Kieran Vincent, Kota Kaneko and Miguel Tabuena.
