Hayden Hopewell is targeting a first HotelPlanner Tour win when he tees it up in the Delhi Challenge at Classic Golf & Country Club this week, in the second of back-to-back events co-sanctioned with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
The Australian was in contention in the Kolkata Challenge last week, and was within one shot of the lead with three holes to play before eventually settling for a tied seventh finish – his best result of the season so far.
The 23-year-old, who’s debut season on the HotelPlanner Tour last year saw him finish 45th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, is looking to build on last week’s top ten finish and boost his chances of promotion come the end of the year.
“I had a solid week last week,” he said. “My game was feeling pretty good, and the flat stick was rolling nicely which was good to see.
“It was nice to have a chance to win in those last few holes. It didn’t quite go my way, but it was good to get the competitive juices flowing and be in the mix.
“Last year I had a good season. I ended up playing 23 events in a row, with 19 on the HotelPlanner Tour, so I think this year I’ll be changing that to make sure that when I do play, I can perform better.
“Obviously we’re all looking at the top 20 for one of the DP World Tour cards and it would be nice to get my first win under my belt which I’ve been after for a while.”
Hopewell currently sits 33rd in the Road to Mallorca Rankings through five events of the 29-event schedule, and having finished in a tie for 17th in the Delhi Challenge last year, is hoping to draw on past experience of Classic Golf & Country Club to get into contention for the second successive week.
“It’s always nice to come back to a course you’ve played well at so I’ve got some good memories here,” he added.
“It played firm and quite low from memory, so I’m looking forward to another good challenge and hopefully I can be in contention.
“I’ll go out there, stick to a game plan, and try and give myself as many opportunities as I can.”
