Renato Paratore is looking to etch his name into the HotelPlanner Tour history books when he tees it up in the Challenge de España at Fontanals Golf Club this week.
The Italian arrives in Girona in scintillating form having triumphed in both the UAE Challenge and Abu Dhabi Challenge last month and could become the first player in HotelPlanner Tour history to win three events in consecutive tournaments should he triumph in Spain.
Paratore, who climbed to second place in the Road to Mallorca Rankings following back-to-back wins in the UAE, would not only re-write the record books with a win, but also secure automatic promotion to the DP World Tour.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I love Spain and everything about this country. It’s also good to be back in Europe.
“My position changed a lot in the Rankings after the last two weeks and I’m really excited to play now. I’m going to play a lot, because I like to compete.
“The UAE was great as I live there and know it well, which helped me a lot. Hopefully by playing well this week, the goal is to be in contention, and we’ll see what happens.
“I didn’t know that I could make history this week, so that’s cool. I’m going to have that focus that I had the last two weeks, go shot-by-shot, and try to play well.”
Paratore became a DP World Tour winner in 2020 when he triumphed in dominant fashion in the Betfred British Masters. A top ten finish at the BMW PGA Championship in the same year, along with a top 15 at the Golf in Dubai Championship saw the Italian end the year 21st on the Race to Dubai.
The 28-year-old, who endured a challenging 2024 and returned to the HotelPlanner Tour after missing out on retaining playing privileges on Golf’s Global Tour, believes the hard work done in the off-season is paying off.
“The strange thing about golf is that if someone told me last year that I would win twice this year, it would be crazy to believe,” he added.
“Last year I finished in November, and I wasn’t playing well. I lost my card, so it wasn’t a good moment of my life, but I worked hard, changed a few things and at the end I started to play better. Here we are now and I’m very happy.”
The Challenge de España marks the first event of the 2025 Road to Mallorca in Europe, with Paratore part of a strong field that includes seven-time DP World Tour winner Alvaro Quiros and Road to Mallorca Number Three Joshua Berry.
The first round gets under way tomorrow at 8:00am local time, with Paratore teeing off alongside Spaniard Quim Vidal and Irishman Liam Nolan at 2:00pm.
