'Top Ten' Evans ready for Rolex

Ryan Evans arrived in Geneva for the European Challenge Tour’s prestigious Rolex Trophy with a great run of form behind him – and a new nickname to go with it.

“I’m being called ‘Top Ten’ this week,” he admitted. “I don’t mind it – if I can keep it going then I’ll be pretty happy.”

The Englishman’s new moniker is a reflection of his recent results, four straight tournaments where he has not been outside the top ten, and he returns to Golf Club de Genève approaching his best form once again.

Evans won his first Challenge Tour event at this year’s Turkish Airlines Challenge, the second event of the season, but five missed cuts soon followed before the recent upturn in his game took him back to fourth in the Road to Oman Rankings.

“It’s been good, the last few weeks,” said the 30 year old. “Just making that cut in Sardinia after my bad spell on the course was pretty big, just getting four rounds together.

“Then coming third in France was just a big momentum changer. I holed a lot of good putts that week, which I hadn’t been doing, and it’s just nice to be playing some good golf.

“Any win is a big win, and my first was great. I played really good golf and I kind of expected to go the next few weeks playing the same and it just didn’t happen – maybe I put too much pressure on myself.

<blockquote title="Ryan Evans">Confidence is massive in this game, as everyone knows - I just feel good in myself and know I'm playing well</blockquote>

“I then just tried to go back to playing some simple golf, not take the flags on too much, just middle of the greens and take the chances when you get them, and my scoring has been a lot better.

“Confidence is massive in this game, as everyone knows – you get a little confidence and you feel and play well, and I think that’s what’s happened in the last few weeks.

“I’m not expecting to win every week, I just feel good in myself and know I’m swinging well and scoring well, so I’m going to try to take the same attitude into this week.

“When I was going through that bad patch, you do struggle, you hit bad shots because you try to force it, try to hit it closer, whereas the last few weeks I’ve not tried to do anything special, I’ve just holed a few putts and taken my chances.”

The Rolex Trophy is an exclusive event only available to the leading players on the Road to Oman, with just 42 professionals taking part in a week-long pro-am format, unique in the Challenge Tour season.

Evans tied for fourth on his Rolex Trophy debut in 2015 and he is excited to embrace one of the most eagerly-anticipated events of the season.

“I played this two years ago and I loved it,” he said. “The format’s obviously different but it’s still a big week. The course is great, I think it’s been freshened up in the last couple of years and it’s looking very good, nice and green.

“I feel like most Pro-Ams I get involved with the amateurs and have a bit of a laugh, but at the same time you are trying to win a golf tournament this week, and so are they.

“They tend to understand this pretty well, not get in the way or ask too much, and it’s just a great week – a great area, a great place, great food, well looked after.

“This is the whole idea of the year, to get into this tournament. Not just the financial side of it, being in the top 42, but the way they look after you and the way the tournament is run, it’s quite a special week.”