Wilson hoping to cast away doubts at Q-School

Former Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson believes his career is back on the right track as the Englishman arrives at Qualifying School Final Stage this weekend hoping to make his European Tour return after a year of rebuilding on the Challenge Tour.

Wilson, who beat Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim in the Saturday morning foursomes alongside current Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson in The 2008 Ryder Cup, dropped back to the second tier in 2012 after eight successive years on The European Tour.

While his first season on the Challenge Tour since 2004 got off to a slow start, the 33 year old began to regain his confidence and rebuild his swing and all of his hard work almost came to fruition in the most spectacular of fashions when a final day 67 at the Northern Ireland Open Challenge Presented by Clannah and XJET earned him a place in a play-off.

Although he was eventually defeated by rising Dutch star Daan Huizing, the huge crowds at Galgorm Castle Golf Club certainly flicked some switches for the nine-time European Tour runner-up and his appetite for the big occasion also shone through when he secured a top five finish at the lucrative Kazakhstan Open three weeks later.

Suddenly, the Weybridge man’s season was on an upward curve and a place in the season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club, where he finished tied 19th, also meant exemption to this week’s Final Stage at the pristine PGA Catalunya Resort.

After a struggle with his game and confidence, Wilson now has the opportunity to make a giant leap back to where he belongs at the six-round marathon near Girona, in Spain, and he is confident he can make the most of it.

“I played badly up until the last couple of months, so to get into the Grand Final and be in the position I am is great,” he said. “I am quite pleased with how it has gone recently.

“It’s just about taking baby steps. It’s about moving forward, trying to progress, building the confidence and trying improving my swing, which I have managed to achieve in the last couple of months.

“My swing has improved and I am driving the ball much better. I am managing to keep it in play, and if I am on the fairways the rest of my game is in good shape.

“I need to keep the confidence up to go out there and commit to the shots. Every tournament this year I have put in a good couple of rounds, but there has always been one round that has let me down so I will look to tidy that up.”

Having finished just two shots shy of a European Tour card at PGA Catalunya Resort last year, Wilson believes that maiden Qualifying School Final Stage experience will stand him in good stead this time around.

“The two courses are really good courses,” he said. “They are weather-dependant when it comes to the scoring, but it is just like any other golf course – if you hit the fairways and greens and putt well you will score well.

“I did OK there last year and just missed out by two shots. I did make a lot of mistakes, but at least I have a little bit more experience going into that week and the knowledge of having six previous tournament rounds is a big advantage which I can hopefully use.”

The Qualifying School Final Stage always provides one of the most dramatic occasions in the golfing calendar.

Having begun with a record-equalling 969 entrants at First Stage in September, many hearts have been broken along the way but dreams will be made over the next week or so as the 156 players exempt for the Final Stage battle it out to finish in the top 25 and ties to fulfil their European Tour dreams.

For the likes of former European Tour winners Nick Dougherty, Bradley Dredge, Fredrik Andersson Hed and Alastair Forsyth, it is the chance to return to former glories but for so many in the field this week, it is about realising a childhood dream for the first time.

Recent stars of the amateur game, such as 2013 Walker Cup players Kevin Phelan of Ireland and Englishmen Callum Shinkwell and Max Orrin, will be seeking to make an immediate leap to the highest echelons of professional golf having all come through the early stages of the Qualifying School.