By Tom Howard
He may have lost his European Tour place following a disappointing season but Benn Barham is adamant he has the game to not only regain his tour card at Qualifying School but win the tournament.
Last week the 33-year-old finished one of his worst seasons on the European Tour by finishing 133rd in the order of merit rankings. Despite coming close to earning his first Tour win when he finished second at the Austrian Open in September, he missed the cut in 16 of his 26 tournaments this season.
Barham missed his 16th and final cut of the season at the JBWere Masters in Australia last week, when he needed a top five finish to secure his place on the tour. The Chart Hills golfer now faces the grueling challenge of Tour Qualifying School held at PGA Golf de Catalunya in Spain next week, which will see 180 golfers competing over 108 holes for 30 tour cards for next season.
Despite his future hanging in the balance, the Ashford golfer, who is no stranger to competing at Qualifying School, is confident he can do more than enough to earn a tour card.
He said: “I’m in a much better position compared to the last time I was there in 2004 and I have shown this year my game is good enough to almost win European Tour events. It is a tough competition, but I know what I can do. I am going there to win it just like any tournament I enter, whether it is a local event or a Tour event. I’ve been working on my game and I’m ready for the challenge.
“It was a big ask to go to Australia and get a top five finish, but I had to do it. I have sat down and looked through the season and basically I have got to work harder on my game and knuckle down a bit more. The skill level on the European Tour just keeps getting better and better and it is a much more serious business compared to five years ago.”
Barham heads to Spain next Wednesday to prepare for the European Tour Qualifying School final stage, which begins next Saturday.
POSTED: 23/11/2009 09:00:00
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