Adri Arnaus - Player Blog

In this week’s Player Blog presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Adri Arnaus discusses rediscovering his mojo after almost quitting during Covid, the importance of his team, his friendship with Jon Rahm and his ambitions for the Ryder Cup and beyond.

I've always been ambitious and wanted to be playing against the best players in the world and trying to measure myself and my game against them. I think that is what is going to allow me to improve every week.

I'm getting closer to playing for bigger events and that is what I want to do. Having a win under my belt will help me compete for Rolex Series events, events like last week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and even Majors.

Playing in the Ryder Cup would be a dream come true. It's a goal but at the same time it's a consequence of keeping improving as a player and performing well on these big stages. I'm really focused on trying to put myself in position for those events and that will give me the chance to put my name down for Europe and try to win the Cup back.

I want to be in that top 30 in the world in the next few months, not years. Being the second highest Spaniard in the Official World Golf Ranking shows we are going in the right direction. It shows we are doing things well and progressing, it shows that my choices to make a couple of changes here and there have been correct.

I was very happy with my first season on Tour, having a few chances to win and getting those experiences under the belt and seeing that I was ready to come through. That was such a positive on my first year and after that Covid happened. It shook me up and I had to readapt to many things.

When we came back after the Covid hiatus I was not enjoying golf at all and I almost considered if it was still for me. I took a few weeks off as a way of finding myself again and finding the fun in the game because, at the end of the day, I do this because I enjoy it. I lost that after coming back from Covid. It did affect my momentum but I wouldn't change it for anything because I discovered many things that I still consider important and that I use.

My mental coach Joseba del Carmen and I got pointed out to my coach Ignacio Garrido after I'd played a couple of DP World Tour events and decided I wanted to do a step-up on my technique. He is not only known for technique, he is also very well known for managing statistics and being very smart on and off the course. It was a complete change in my golf in a way of technique and looking at the stats and how I could practise better. I made that change in my Challenge Tour year and it was a lot of changes but all for the better and we had a very good performance and I graduated onto the DP World Tour. It's good to take him to Majors and pick his brain on some situations that I haven't experienced in the past.

For me, Joseba is also a key component on my team. He's one of the longest serving people on my team going back to me being an amateur. He has brought so much more than only tips for during a round, it's a complete approach and he helps me manage life better. If I'm in a good position I can go to the course feeling more relaxed and I can focus on what I want to do on the course better. It's key and it's something that I don't want to take for granted.

The win in Catalunya was fantastic. After a third play-off in six months I could tell that I had learned so much from the first two and they were definitely a motivator but more than anything, I learned from them and was able to implement what I learned right on the spot at PGA Catalunya. Losing the play-off at the Open de España in 2021 definitely made me more hungry.

I always had the belief that I was ready to win. Sometimes it doesn't play out the way you want but you've got to accept that and most importantly learn from it when another opportunity comes around. I'm looking forward to another opportunity to win again. It's a fantastic feeling that we all work for.

I grew up looking forward to playing events like the Open de España. When I was young I always wanted to be part of them so there's a little bit of motivation when I get to the weeks playing in Spain. We play fantastic courses and I think Spain is a fantastic place to play many events on the DP World Tour. I've always felt that the Spanish crowds have my back and they lift me up at some points. More than anything I enjoy feeling that the crowd is on my side, it keeps me in the present.

I've already won once in Spain this season and it was such an amazing feeling to do it in front of a home crowd and something I hope I can repeat this week or in the future. To win in front of friends and family is probably one of the most special things I've been able to do in my career and it would mean the world to do it again.

When I was growing up, Seve had just a few years left of his career and I couldn't really experience him first-hand but I'm a lover of the history of golf and I've done my research. Seve, for every Spaniard you talk to, is a legend and an icon. We all looked up to him when we were young, playing chipping games and trying to emulate some of his craziest and wildest up-and-downs. He has meant so much to us and opened up so many doors to the next generation, golf in Spain wouldn't be what it is today without him. He put us on the map and created a pathway that hopefully we can continue to grow.

Jon Rahm and I have played together since we were 12. We have been to European events with the Spanish Federation and I've always said that I have learned from him since I've been 15 years old. He's always been very strong inside the team and I am somebody that if I see someone doing something well I will ask questions and try to see how they do things. He has achieved so much and I think he still has so much to achieve. He's an incredible player and an incredible person and I'll apply anything he tells me if I ask a question. It's a relationship that comes from knowing each other a long time as friends and we are also competitors on the course. It's a good relationship.

I've always been a fan of music and I enjoy getting behind the decks. I like to DJ when I'm at home with some friends. I also like to find time to disconnect and have some time with myself around nature. I grew up outside the city and I really like going around with my dog. In Dubai, my girlfriend and I like going to the desert and having a bonfire.

My dog is called Khaimah. I had a bet with my dad that whenever I won on the Challenge Tour we would get a dog and up until the last event I had been very close but I didn't win until the final in Ras Al Khaimah. We ended up getting a Labrador, she is super cute and we called her Khaimah.