A trip to Augusta National. Leading your first European Tour event. Earning a European Tour card. Playing with your hero at the World Cup of Golf. As breakthrough years go, Romain Langasque’s has been pretty special.
The 21 year old was not even a professional at the start of the year, preserving his amateur status until the end of April in order to compete at the Masters Tournament as reigning Amateur Champion.
By that time the Frenchman had already made a remarkable start to life as a Challenge Tour player, finishing runner-up in the season-opening Barclays Kenya Open to serve notice of his incredible potential.
This result saw him take advantage of a new Challenge Tour regulation allowing amateurs to earn Road to Oman points. Ultimately this spelt good news for compatriot Joël Stalter, whose 16th spot in the Rankings was good enough for European Tour graduation, with Langasque’s previous ranked amateur status meaning he counted in addition to the top 15 who earned cards.
Now at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath Golf Club, Langasque’s annus mirabilis concludes in some style as he partners Victor Dubuisson in the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf – offering him the chance to indulge in some hero-worship.
“Victor was always my hero,” he said. “He’s a bit of a crazy guy, and I’ve always liked the players who have something a bit special about them, an x factor, and Victor definitely has that.
“To play with him in the World Cup is a big thing for me. I already had everything I could have wanted from this season, and then I have this as well, so I’m really happy about it.
“We can do a really good job I think, as long as we stay focused and make sure we do our best. It’s just a dream to be able to play with Victor again, especially in a big tournament like this one.”
It might seem strange to be critical of such an outstanding season, especially a maiden professional one, but it could have been even better for Langasque.
That second place in Kenya was followed by top fives in Egypt and Turkey, and a deserved first victory looked certain to come at the D+D REAL Slovakia Challenge in July.
Langasque missed a putt to win on the 72nd hole before doing the same on the first play-off hole as Espen Kofstad took home the trophy, while back-to-back opportunities narrowly slipped past in Finland and at the Rolex Trophy, where he finished second and fourth respectively.
Those near misses took him to the top of the Rankings for the first time, and were swiftly followed by a headline-grabbing performance at the Omega European Masters on the European Tour, where he led after round two before finishing tied for seventh.
With a top 16 spot secure heading into the end of the season, that elusive victory looked like it would arrive at the penultimate event of the year, the Ras Al Khaimah 2016 Golf Challenge, but he could not hold onto his halfway lead and had to settle for a share of sixth place.
Ninth spot on the Road to Oman arguably does not do justice to the extraordinary performances Langasque has delivered this season, but, reflecting on his meteoric rise, he could not be happier with what he has achieved – or feel better prepared for life in the Race to Dubai.
“It’s been a great year,” he said. “I’ve played so well all year and was under pressure a lot, and now I know I have a European Tour card and, I hope, the game to do well at that level, because it’s been an amazing season for me.
“I started the year without any Challenge Tour category, as an amateur, and I played well in the first event, then I continued to play well and I think I was in the top ten for the whole season.
“The big objective at the start of the year was just to keep Challenge Tour status, then it became to finish in the top 16, and then in August at the Rolex Trophy I started to think that maybe I could win the Rankings.
“Even though that wasn’t to be, I’ve been thinking more and more about next year and about preparing well to be ready for the year in January.
“I’ve learned a lot this year. I still haven’t won as a professional but a lot of times I’ve been in a position to do so, I only missed one cut all year, so that shows that my game is in good shape and is ready.
“I still have to learn, I need to be more patient because at times I’ve been too impatient – I make a bogey and think that I have to go really low after it, when I just need to keep playing my game, not think too much about the result.
“I’m definitely ready for European Tour golf, and I just want to make sure I’m ready for every tournament I play. I made the cut at the Open last year, I made the cut at the Masters, I was leading in Crans after two rounds, so I know I can do all this. I now just have to be patient and make sure I progress.
“I’ve made mistakes this year but I’ve learned a lot, and that’s perfect for me because a lot of them happened after I already had the European Tour card in my pocket. I’m only 21 and I hope I have about 35 more years to play, so I now just need to focus.”
If 2016 is anything to go by, those 35 years are going to be worth watching.