Alfie Plant is targeting a hat-trick of European Challenge Tour victories on French soil as he prepares to tee it up in the Hopps Open de Provence this week.
The Englishman returns to Golf International de Pont Royal as the defending champion after securing his maiden title here last season, and he doubled his tally in France with victory at the Blot Open de Bretagne earlier this season.
“It’s great to be back here,” he said. “The win last year was huge, and I clearly enjoy playing in France. It was special to get my second win in this country at the start of this season and hopefully I can get my third win this week.
“I had terrible preparation heading into this event last year because it was my 14th week in a row, and I was exhausted. I only played nine holes before the tournament and the win was definitely a nice surprise. I think I played without any pressure and tried to enjoy the week.”
The 30-year-old, who graduated to the Challenge Tour from the Euro Pro Tour in 2019, currently sits in 34th position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and is looking to break into the top 20 with just four events left.
“Last year was my full year on the Challenge Tour and it was great to get a win and prove I can put myself into contention,” he said. “I feel more confident this year and I’m going to put my head down and focus on breaking into that top 20 because the competition is so strong and anyone can win on any given week.
“I’ve got three events left before the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final so I think I need a couple of top fives and a strong performance in the Grand Final. I’m doing something that I love and getting to travel the world so sometimes I need to take a step back and enjoy it too.”
Plant will be joined in France by last week’s Swiss Challenge winner Daniel Hillier and Road to Mallorca Number Two Freddy Schott.
The first round gets under way at 8:10am local time, with Plant teeing it up alongside Hillier and Frenchman Grégory Bourdy at 1:00pm.
