Ricardo Gouveia ready to ride The Wave in Muscat National Bank of Oman Golf Classic
As the penultimate event of the European Challenge Tour season, the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic is a huge week for every player involved and Ricardo Gouveia is one of the many arriving in Muscat primarily focussed on beating a path into next week’s season finale in Dubai.
The Portuguese has come from nowhere this season, turning professional less than four months ago before making an instant impression on the Challenge Tour by claiming a victory in just his seventh start at the EMC Golf Challenge Open 2014 earlier this month.
That triumph has suddenly launched him into contention for a place at the season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club, while graduation to The European Tour is still within his sights.
Like so many others, a win this week would fast-track him to the highest echelon of European golf, but the talented 23 year old is keen to avoid thinking too far ahead and is just happy to have put himself in this position in the first place.
“It’s a big week here for everyone,” said Gouveia, who enjoyed a stellar amateur career in the American collegiate ranks, having studied at University of Central Florida. “My goal since winning has been just to make the top 45, but if I cannot do that, it’s not a big deal for me.
“That win in Rome took a lot of pressure off me and now I have a category for the Challenge Tour for next year so in that case, it would be another year of golf at a good level and another year of experience.
“Of course, having played so well in the last month, I’m going to do whatever I can to force myself into that top 45 but there is no pressure on me to do that.
“I played really well in China last week (where he finished tied 12th) and a couple of errors cost me a really good finish but I’m still in with a chance of top 45 and maybe with a good finish this week I can have a go at getting a European Tour card.”
Having played in front of big crowds at the Portugal Masters a week after his first professional victory, Gouveia has been riding the crest of a wave and now he looking forward to taking on the Greg Norman-designed Almouj The Wave, this week’s venue which proved one of the most popular of the season in 2013.
“I’ve been asking the guys about the course and they all say it’s one of the best we play on the Challenge Tour,” he said. “It could get windy and that would make it tough but I’m looking forward to it.
“This form came out of nowhere for me because I was not performing when I started on the Challenge Tour and I was getting a bit down about it.
“But I kept fighting and I kept working and I knew if I did that the hard work was going to show at some stage. It would be amazing to continue playing like I am playing and maybe get a European Tour card but we’ll see.”
