At just 22 years old, Pablo Ereño has left this Tuesday a simple and convincing calling card —four under par and second place in the first 18 holes—, placing himself in the spotlight of the Promotion School of LIV Golf from day one. This Friday all results are reset so what was done on Thursday becomes a thing of the past, but it is clear that he has shown from the start that he has come to fight for one of the three cards of the Saudi circuit.
Ereño is the youngest of the 78 players who started this week for a professional opportunity in LIV, but his speech and, above all, his game, convey a clear feeling: he arrives with his homework done. Prepared, more than prepared.
Much of that preparation has a specific origin and very specific learning. Ereño does not hesitate when asked about his time at university: UCLA was the place where his golf was finally organised. There, under the tutelage of Armen Kirakossian, the work focused on an aspect as unglamorous as it is decisive: the easier chips.
“It wasn’t the spectacular shots that cost me,” he acknowledges. “In difficult situations, without a green, I defended myself well. The problem was those simple chips around the green.” At UCLA, that flaw did not go unnoticed. Kirakossian insisted on mechanising the basics, on repeating until mastering the shots that appear most often during a round. Different clubs, different trajectories and, above all, a clear idea: to build a reliable short game to compete at the highest level.
That process, Ereño explains, was not just technical. It was also a way of understanding himself as a player. Knowing what type of golfer he is, what he needs to perform and, something he highlights naturally, feeling comfortable on the course. “To play good golf I need to be happy,” he summarises. A simple phrase that helps to understand the calmness with which he has faced this demanding debut.
The second pillar of his speech comes when asked about the other young Spaniards who have already found their place in the LIV ecosystem. Ereño does not hide his closeness to Josele Ballester and Luis Masaveu, two immediate references who have shown that the path is real. Of them, he says, he has only heard positive things. Seeing what Ballester has recently achieved —victories and consistency in high-level tournaments— reinforces his conviction that this is an environment in which he can fit.
He does not talk about pressure or urgency, but about opportunity. Competing with players he has grown up with since junior gives him confidence, not vertigo. “I have always been playing against them,” he explains. “I know I can do just as well.” That familiarity with the level allows him to face the tournament without complexes, focused solely on continuing to advance round by round.
The format, demanding and with no room for mistakes, does not seem to unsettle him either. Each day, he insists, is a complete restart. The previous result does not matter. You have to go out again and play strong for another 18 holes. A practical mentality, very much of a long tournament, applied to a test that functions as a continuous sprint.
Beyond the three direct places for LIV Golf, the School also offers tickets for next year’s International Series. For Ereño, it is another clear incentive: to improve the calendar, gain experience and open doors in scenarios he does not yet know, such as Asia, a continent where he has not yet competed but which he looks at with curiosity.
