Andreas Hartø returns to the site of his first Challenge Tour victory, the ECCO Tour Championship
Andreas Hartø is set to return to the field of the ECCO Tour Championship hosted by Thomas Björn & Mercedes-Benz after missing the tournament last year.
In 2010, Hartø became one of the hottest sensations in the world of golf when he recorded a victory in the abovementioned event as an amateur.
The same year saw him turn professional and he earned the full-time card for the 2011 European Tour season.
Therefore, he went on playing the European Tour and opted not to return to the field for his title defence. However, he failed to keep his momentum going into the higher stage of the game and performed poorly throughout the season.
As a result, he had to lose his full-time status on the European Tour and had to return to the Challenge Tour once again.
However, the situation is completely different this year. He is not too worried about his European Tour status, as he is confident to re-claim it easily.
In 2010, he had to participate in the Qualifying School Final Stage, as he failed to make it to the top-20 in the money list. He only played four tournaments in 2010, which were not enough for him to earn enough money to get an automatic qualification for
the European Tour.
This year, he is ranked fourth in the money list and he is most probable to retain his position till the end of the season.
“I know I can play at that level again,” said Hartø. “I’ve showed signs of it this year on the Challenge Tour, it’s just about doing it consistently. It’s getting closer and closer. These last couple of weeks I haven’t putted well, but in this game the margins
are so small – if I can get some putts rolling in, I’ll be right up there”.
He added, “The two years since I won there have been a long run,” he added. “I’ve said it a billion times, but I improved so much last year as a golfer. I played badly a lot of the time and struggled to deal with the step up, but I matured so much as a player”.
Despite his good form in the current season, Hartø has not succeeded in recording the third victory of his career. However, he is confident to do it this week when he will have a huge fan base supporting him on his home soil.
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