Antoine Rozner’s masterpiece

Antoine Rozner has been in Dubai since Monday morning. In the Emirates. After two days of well-deserved rest, the Racingman got back to work in order to prepare for the Dubai Championship (December 2-5) by testing several Dubai courses until the weekend, the quality and facilities of which are well established. .
« I don’t know them at all, he breathes. But it’s a great place to train. I am with Romain Langasque (arrived the day after Cyprus Showdown). We will spend the week together … »

53rd in the Race without playing the Rolex Series

He could have, in absolute terms, taken the start this Thursday of theAlfred Dunhill Championship on the sublime course of Leopard Creek Country Club. A tournament co-sanctioned by theEuropean Tour and the Sunshine Tour. But his final 20th place in the Joburg Open last week definitely has it ” qualified ” for the DP World Tour Championship, the Race final scheduled from December 10 to 13 at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

« I knew I was missing a few points to be sure to play the final in Dubai, analyzes the current 53rd to the Race. With a top 20 in Joburg, it was done. I’m 99% sure to be in the final, knowing that it will normally go down to the 65th I think… So I’m happy. That was the goal at the start of the season. 53rd in the Race, I would have signed immediately last December. It’s a very good season. I was very consistent, with two podiums (2nd toAfrAsia Bank Mauritius December 8, 2019 and 3rd atAndalucia Masters September 6, 2020), on courses that I am discovering … 53rd in a season where we only play tournaments with 1 million euros endowment, without being able to participate in the Rolex Series, that’s pretty good. It’s very hard to play for the top of the league when you’re not playing Rolex. »

No weak point in his game

Its gait chart is indeed quite impressive. Rookie, Antoine Rozner has thus chained ten tournaments in a row without missing the slightest cut before ” fall »For the first time in… August, in Wales (Celtic Classic).
« Before I missed my first cut, I was on a series of 20 cuts in a row, he specifies. Two missed cuts in almost 40 tournaments… It means that my game is in place, that it works on all types of courses, in all conditions… It’s very encouraging. »

Throughout a year unlike any other, totally overwhelmed by the pandemic linked to Covid-19, the Frenchman, now 203rd in the world ranking, has shown incredible maturity. What is the key to its success?
« I always felt super comfortable, he confirms. I play golf very well, which is what also makes it possible to achieve results. After that, you have to keep your nerves strong. But even though, my game background is really strong at the moment, I putt much better than before. And I miss very few shots. This is what is successful for me this year. I was not far from winning on two occasions… But we can always improve in certain areas of the game. I am thinking in particular of those which allow us to score, that is to say wedging, chipping, putting… I don’t consider this to be weak points but rather areas where you can always improve. This week for example, I will try to work my wedging to be precise in my distances below 100 meters. At our level, it is essential. But it’s true that winning will be my goal for 2021. »

Him mental? Primordial!

The Racingman can even rely on a mentality which seems to be, there too, rather well in practice.
« I work it everyday with Makis Chamalidis, he explains. We are in contact almost every day. It’s something that we work on daily. Even if it involves a voicemail message or a telephone appointment, it is a daily job. It is essential for me in order to shine at a high level. It is even essential. There is so much pressure in this sport, so many external things that can happen, so many details… »

The pupil of Benoit Ducoulombier – « we saw each other less this year but we talk regularly on the phone – yet had moments of doubts. Especially during the long interruption of play (four months), resulting from the global health situation. Between the Dunhil Championship at the end of November 2019 and the Qatar Masters, in early March 2020, Antoine Rozner had yet aligned fifteen turns out of twenty-four under par. Would he find such a solid level of play after the resumption?

All the players doubted

« I had doubts, worries when the game was stopped, he acknowledges softly by way of conclusion. Spending two months without hitting a club, without hitting a ball, there is no guarantee that we will come back to a very good level, even from a mental point of view. But with Makis, we made sure to prepare this cover in the best possible way. I prepared well physically too … In fact, all the players doubted, and it was the one who was going to stay the calmest who was going to get through it. On arrival, I did not do too badly. But I must also admit that I was very lucky to ride the year it took to have full playing rights on the Tour. So yes, it’s quite frustrating because we did not benefit from the full schedule, without the endowments that go with it, but I consider myself more as lucky than as frustrated. I don’t hide the fact that it was very frustrating at the beginning, when we didn’t play for three to four months, but with hindsight, we still played a lot of tournaments. I was lucky. »