Gary Lockerbie ready to defend the top spot in Challenge Tour Rankings at the Kazakhstan Open
Gary Lockerbie will feature in the event, in which he recorded a victory in 2008, when he goes in search of retaining the top spot in the Challenge Tour Rankings, at the Kazakhstan Open this week.
The victory in 2008 played an important role in earning his European Tour card for the 2009 golf season. This year, he has a completely different task in hand.
He does not care much about the full-time playing card for the bigger stage, as he has already qualified for that and is confirmed to play. However, he does care about being the best on the Tour at the end of the year.
Last week, Magnus A Carlsson sliced the lead in the rankings to just €390, after finishing better than Lockerbie at the M2M Russian Challenge Cup.
Therefore, the current week is really crucial for both the players, as it will decide which player will take the top spot, heading into the last six tournaments of the season.
Lockerbie, in the meantime, does not want to build a rivalry against Carlsson. According to him, such kind of approach can spoil his game for the future.
Therefore, he only wants to focus on his own game, rather than competing against the Swede.
“I don’t look too much at the Rankings,” he said. “People remind me of it a lot but it’s not the biggest issue. I'm not just trying to beat Magnus every week and if it turned into a match play situation where we’re just trying to beat each other every week
it wouldn’t be good for our golf.
“I'm sure Magnus is trying equally as hard but we just want to do our best and see where we end up. There are still loads of players who can win the Rankings and anyone who wins here will be right up there and have a very good chance”.
According to him, he feels much better heading into this week’s tournament, as he does not have to worry about his European Tour card.
Therefore, he will have a psychological advantage over his competitors, when he tees off at the Zhailjau Golf Resort.
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