Edfors fighting fit ahead of Q-School marathon

<strong>By Nick Totten, europeantour.com<br />
at PGA Catalunya Resort</strong>

There are few better examples of what a star turn at the European Tour Final Qualifying Stage at PGA Catalunya Resort can lead to than Johan Edfors, who last successfully traversed the six round endurance test in 2005, en route to the best season of his career.

After a period in which he has suffered both on and off the course, having had to deal with chronic injury and the loss of his father earlier this year, the Swede is now starting to show some of the form that saw him claim three European Tour victories in one season eight years ago.

That success elevated him to a career best tenth on the Order of Merit in 2006, and while he would not reach such heights again, the 39 year old Onsala resident went on to establish himself as one of the circuit’s more consistent performers over the campaigns to come.

Sciatic nerve damage and a troublesome shoulder injury subsequently forced Edfors to play through considerable pain in the last few years, and when he eventually lost his card at the end of 2013, a season on the Challenge Tour beckoned.

Having once been crowned Number One back in 2003, many would have expected the Swede to excel on the second tier, but he struggled to find his best form until a potentially career-changing victory at the Shankai Classic presented by IDG last month.

That propelled him to within touching distance of a place in the top 15 and a return to The European Tour, but having come up just short he will now rely on a strong six-round sojourn at PGA Catalunya Resort - a European Tour Destination - if he is to earn a return to The Race to Dubai in 2015.

“I had a nice win there in China, but then had a few bad finishes in the last three events,” said the three-time Challenge Tour winner, who finished 18th on the Rankings this season. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to come here, but now I am I’ll try to do my best.

“It is a long week, so you don’t want to spend too much time here practicing. It’s good fun though, as we all played a bit of paddle tennis yesterday, and I think we’ll do the same this afternoon. That helps, having some fun, and not taking it too seriously.

“As long as you can avoid a bad round here you are always going to have a chance. I might try and play a little more conservatively, but you’ll still have to play well out there, and just aiming for the middle of the greens isn’t going to work.

“There have been quite a lot of birdies recently but plenty of others, so if I can keep making the birdies then I should have a decent chance. I have everything to gain here, as even if I don’t make it I have perhaps the 30th card at the moment, so I can bump up a few spots here this week.

“With my category I will be able to plan my schedule a little more for next year, as it should give me a few events (on The European Tour), but hopefully I’ll have a really good week here and it will be a different story.

“We were chatting earlier and were saying that it is a weird week. Some guys are delighted to be here, and some are not very happy at all. It’s a lot easier this year than last for me, when I came back for the first time in quite a few years, so hopefully I can play a bit more stress free this week.

“There’s plenty of birdies in there though, so my game is close to being good. I just need to keep those bad ones out of the bag this week.”

Edfors will headline a 17-strong Swedish contingent in Girona, which also includes fellow European Tour winners Fredrik Andersson Hed, Peter Hedblom, Oskar Henningsson and Michael Jonzon.

There are in fact 29 players in the field of 156 who have tasted victory on The Race to Dubai, as well as five former Challenge Tour Number Ones and six of the last seven Final Qualifying Stage winners, all of which should make for a stern test this week.

When play gets under way north of Barcelona on Saturday morning the field will be required to play two rounds each on both the Tour and Stadium courses to establish the top 70 and ties who will qualify for the final 36 holes.

The closing two rounds will then be contested on the Stadium Course, recently voted the best in Spain, at the culmination of which the top 25 and ties will earn their place on The European Tour in 2015.