Ronan Kleu tees it up at this week's Swiss Challenge, hosted at Golf Sempach in Lucerne, as he looks for his maiden HotelPlanner Tour victory.
The Swiss has made the cut in his last three HotelPlanner Tour appearances and backed up a positive week at the Italian Challenge Open by finishing in a tie for 15th at the Challenge de Catalunya.
Kleu sits 72nd on the season long Road to Mallorca Rankings and will be looking to improve that with a home win in Lucerne this week.
“I’m really looking forward to this week,” he said. “It’s always nice to be able to stay at home. I know the people and I know the course and it’s good to have some fantastic views.
“My dad is going to be my caddie this week; my family and friends may be coming down too which is good.
“Swiss golf is definitely growing. Sempach has a bit of everything, it’s quite a complete golf course, you have to do a bit of everything that will help you prepare well for the next level.
“I think there is a little bit more hype going into this week but I’ll try to prepare as usual and fingers crossed it will be a great show for Swiss golf.”
A win will see the 26-year-old join a group of illustrious former champions which includes four-time DP World Tour winner and European Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello, DP World Tour winner Dan Hillier, Scotsman Euan Walker, 2025 champion Félix Mory and home favourite Joel Girrbach, who is currently the only Swiss player to win the event.
“It was a very special week for me,” said Girrbach, who triumphed in 2017.
“I have lots of great memories of the course. They make a great job at Sempach with the setup, and when I played there it was crowded with spectators.”
The 2022 Swiss Challenge proved crucial for Hillier, as it almost guaranteed his promotion to the DP World Tour.
“It will definitely go down as one of the more significant wins of my career,” he said.
“The trophy is awesome. Having a giant cowbell as a trophy was very unique and it was cool to see a design which is so widely recognised as part of the Swiss heritage. I was very lucky that I was able to keep a small replica.”
Walker, who won the 2024 edition before going on to earn promotion to the DP World Tour last year, said, “It’s one event I always had on my schedule from the start.
“The reality is, if you can succeed on the HotelPlanner Tour, then you can succeed on the DP World Tour too.”
DP World Tour winner Nick Bachem is amongst a strong field in Lucerne, which includes 2011 Swiss Challenge champion Benjamin Hebert, last week’s champion Ryan Van Velzen and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen, who won the Danish Golf Challenge two weeks ago.
They tee it up alongside Road to Mallorca number three Will Enefer this week who will be looking to catch MJ Daffue and Pablo Ereno at the top of the season-long Rankings.
