A victory opens many doors. Quim Vidal is the champion of the Delhi Challenge 2025 and his first triumph on the HotelPlanner Tour offers him an interesting range of possibilities. The first and most important for his interests is that he is now fifth in the Road to Mallorca.
His main goal is to ascend to the elite of the continental tour. To secure one of the twenty coveted cards for the DP World Tour. “Obviously, I’ve taken an important step, but there’s still a long way to go. At least I know that next year I already have a card to play again on the HotelPlanner Tour. My only goal is to move up, but it gives me some peace of mind.” Vidal has made a giant leap in his promotion aspirations, but he is taking it step by step. First things first.
An immediate consequence of what happened this Sunday is that the DP World Tour had granted him an invitation to play this week in the Hero Indian Open. Quim has declined the opportunity to play the tournament. It’s not an easy decision because Quim has barely played an event in the top continental division and it would be the first in almost three years. However, he doesn’t hesitate, he doesn’t want distractions. “I’m going to stick with the training schedule. I had already been competing for two consecutive weeks, and the third could feel a bit longer.” Moreover, it’s important to remember that from May, the calendar of the former Challenge Tour reaches Europe and becomes a real marathon of events. It’s crucial to arrive well-prepared for the central part of the season.
Another outcome of his victory is that Quim jumps almost 300 places in the world ranking and is now number 435 in the world. Being among the top 500 in the world practically guarantees him a spot in the qualifying round for the US Open next June. He is not 100% sure he will compete in it. Another testament to how central it is for Vidal to secure his main goal.
Firstly, because the week the qualifying round takes place, there is a HotelPlanner Tour event. There is no problem in balancing both events since the qualifying round is in London on Monday, 19th May, and the tournament in Denmark starts on Thursday. However, for Quim, it’s already a distraction. “The usual thing is that I end up playing the qualifying round, but I don’t want elements that distract me or prevent me from preparing well for the tournaments. I would arrive in Denmark later than usual and would have to request to play the ProAm on Wednesday.”
Anyone else would be thrilled at the possibility of dreaming about debuting in a Major. Quim wants to take it step by step, at his own pace. The rest will come when it has to. So much so that when he talks about the possibility of qualifying for the US Open through the aforementioned qualifying round, he has doubts: “Logically, the chances of me passing the qualifying round are small, but if I do, it would put me in a bind. That week there is a Challenge event, and I don’t want to miss a single one. Imagine that week I achieve a great position in Denmark that ensures I play in the DP World Tour next year.” You might think that perhaps Quim’s mind has been a bit altered, but that’s not the case: “Obviously, a Major is a Major, and it’s an incredible experience, but I don’t want to lose focus on where I want to have it. When the time comes, I’ll make decisions based on the calendar and how these months go, but it’s not something that keeps me up at night.”
Vidal’s realism is astonishing. Harsh at times, but the sincerity with which he expresses things is also appreciated. When asked about his victory in India, he acknowledges it was unexpected: “I didn’t expect this victory to come at this moment at all. I find it very hard to link two positive rounds, so I was the first to be surprised. I was already amazed to be able to do it for three days. Sunday didn’t go well for me, but having had the experience before in previous tournaments helped me this week to be more consistent and regular.”
The 25-year-old player acknowledges that Sunday was not his best day: “I didn’t play very well. I didn’t hit well from the tee, but things worked out at the right moment. The second shot on the 18th from the downslope of the bunker was the best hit of the day. A three-iron from 230 metres to the flag that rolled onto the green. The eagle putt of almost fifteen metres that I made was very good, but without the second shot, I wouldn’t have had any chance. It was a huge morale boost, and on the first shot of the playoff, I also gained a lot of confidence because I finally managed to hit a drive to the spot. Berry played very well, but I showed up at the exact moment.”
In fact, Vidal gives Berry a lot of credit. “If I didn’t play as I wanted, it’s because he started very well. He made two birdies in the first three holes and was about to make three out of three. It’s not an easy stretch of the course. If you come out at par, it’s an achievement. I realised there how long the day was going to be. My lead vanished in the blink of an eye. Also, I had three lip-outs between holes six and nine, nothing was going my way, but I stayed very calm, managed to keep my composure, and in the end, it worked out,” concludes the Spanish player.
Now Quim has three weeks of training before resuming competition in the United Arab Emirates on 13th April. Until then, he will only compete in the Cataluña Pro Tour, which takes place next Monday at his club in Sant Cugat: “I’m not going to lie to you, it’s an event that excites me a lot, it’s one of my favourite tournaments of the year.” It’s time to rest, enjoy, and savour the first victory of his career on the HotelPlanner Tour.
