Eirik Tage Johansen is swapping parental duties for the golf course this week and is hoping to return to the family home with something to celebrate following the 57ยฐ Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort.
The Norwegian is playing a limited schedule this year after his wife gave birth to twins five months ago, providing their eldest daughter โ who turns two years old next week โ with two sisters.
Johansenโs wife, Maren, experienced a tough pregnancy which required him to spend more time at home both before and after the birth, meaning this weekโs tournament will only be his sixth of the season.
However, a maiden victory at the Andalucรญa โ Costa del Sol Match Play 9 in June meant he secured his playing privileges for the 2020 season in just his second event of the year, meaning everything from then became a bonus.
Morgado Golf Resort looking 👌#OpendePortugal pic.twitter.com/0tn7NvrY3Q
โ Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) September 11, 2019
โItโs a crazy year,โ he said. โWe had twins in April and before that my wife wasnโt too well because of the pregnancy, so I had to take some time away from golf before they were born, and of course after.
โI was really fortunate to have a good week in Spain, I won there, and that made this season a whole lot easier. We made a plan to come out here enough times to have a shot at doing something reasonable.
โYou can always wish to have some strong finishes but from where I started out this year, everything is a bonus. Even coming out early for tournaments and getting some sleep is a bonus! My eldest is going to be two next week and having three girls under two years old keeps you busy.โ
The 37-year-old is currently 30th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and sees this week as an opportunity to build on that solid foundation at a course which is set up to be a challenge.
โIโm staying on site here at Morgado Golf Resort,โ he said. โThey are great rooms and they have great facilities and itโs a great place to practice.
โThe course is set up really tough and Iโm glad they have trimmed the rough slightly. I came out here on Monday and couldnโt find a single ball! Theyโve trimmed it down and made it nice and straight but itโs still a good challenge. This is a proper event, no doubt about it.
โRolex Trophy is an extremely fun week to play and it was great to have a top ten there. Iโm playing this week and then Iโm going to play in Morocco. They will be my next two events and Iโm looking forward to hopefully doing something smart here.โ
As the race for a top 15 spot on the Road to Mallorca hots up, this week presents an opportunity for players to cement a place in the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final, with the winner receiving 32,000 Rankings points.
With Challenge Tour Number One Calum Hill not playing this week, Richard Bland, Ricardo Santos, Matthew Jordan and Cormac Sharvin all have the chance to claim top spot with a victory.
The action begins at Morgado Golf Resort at 7.30am local time on Thursday with Pep Angles, Aaron Cockerill and Simon Forsstrรถm in the first group of the day.