Gonzalo Fernández Castaño will fly to Shanghai this coming Monday, where, starting on Thursday, he will attempt to defend his title at the BMW Masters, the first tournament of the Final Series of the European tour. Before taking off from Chicago, he had to make a sincere evaluation of where he stands, now that it's come time for this tournament.
To begin, he can't hide the enormous sensation of disappointment looming over him. “The start of the PGA Tour season was very disappointing. I really wanted to do well in these first three tournaments, but the beginning was disheartening, why say it any other way”. From here, there's a small light at the end of the tunnel: “I'm not sure in what state I'll arrive to China, but it's clear that it's always nice to go back to a place where you've won, and where you've done things right”.
In fact, his last victory was there, just one year ago, even though it's not exactly a course that comes easy to the Madrid native. “I remember that the first time I played there, I didn't like it too much. It's really long. But, as you can see, the second time I went, I walked away with the victory. I think the fact that it was really windy throughout the entire week was one of the factors on my side. For example, some days, they moved some of the tees forward”. Looking on the bright side and to add a touch of humor to the situation, after not having made the cut in the first few tournaments of the PGA Tour, he won't get eliminated in the precursor because everyone will play all four rounds: “what I know for sure in Shanghai is that I'll make the cuts, because there aren't any...”.
Fernandez-Castaño has won the tournament sponsored by BMW three times now. It's as if there were a special feeling in the air... “Really I think it's just pure coincidence. Or maybe it's just BMW sponsors so many tournaments that in the end, almost by force, you have to win at least one”, he joked.
