Friday 10 November 2017 17:04, UK
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano will have an "over-qualified" caddie by his side as he looks to regain his European Tour card at the final stage of Qualifying School in Spain.
Fernandez-Castano will have European Tour stalwart Alvaro Quiros on his bag for the gruelling six-round tournament at Lumine, where 156 players are competing with only the top 25 and ties earning the right to play in the 2018 season.
The Spaniards are both seven-time winners on Tour, and Fernandez-Castano is counting on their combined experience to see them through one of the toughest tests in the game.
"I've probably got the most overqualified caddie here we have 14 European Tour victories between the two of us," said Fernandez-Castano, whose last win was the BMW Masters four years ago before he joined the PGA Tour the following season.
"Having Alvaro on the bag, not just for being such an experienced player and knowledgeable guy but also having a friend on the bag for such an important week, where patience is going to be key, I think that's going to help a lot and make it as fun as playing Q-School can be.
"It's been part of my plans since the beginning of the year because I want to go back to being a European Tour member. Even though I'm mainly living and playing more in the USA, it now makes sense with the new regulations of only having to play four tournaments.
"I think it's going to be a fun week, especially having Alvaro on the bag - it's going to be interesting so I'm looking forward to it."
Fernandez-Castano is one of 30 European Tour winners in the field for the event starting on Saturday, including former Ryder Cup stars Oliver Wilson and Niclas Fasth.
Two-time BMW PGA Championship winner Anders Hansen is also attempting to win back his card along with experienced Englishman Simon Dyson, who won the last of his six European Tour titles in 2011.
"I'm not feeling too bad. I haven't really played very well since I came back from wrist surgery so it's been a case of building back up to hopefully getting back on tour properly," said Dyson.
"I've played the last couple of years on tour and not really done much good but I'm doing some good work with my fitness coach and I feel like there's maybe a few more years left in me - I'm 40 this year and there's not that many 40-year-olds on Tour any more, all these young guns who bomb it 320 are taking over the world.
"I'll give it my best go and see what happens. I don't really think I've got much pressure on me as I've been on tour for 18 years, so if it doesn't happen I've had a good career."
