ARNAUS Adri

General
PROGRESSION TO EUROPEAN TOUR
In late 2017 he turned professional after he won the Order of Merit on the Alps Tour [European third tier] before progressing to the Challenge Tour in 2018. "The Alps Tour was really a good learning experience for me. I started getting into the mix with professional golfers and it was great to see I was able to compete with them even as an amateur. I feel like it definitely made me the player I am today. I had just finished college in the US and wanted to give it a go with some invitations from the federation, and it turned out great. I ended up winning the Alps Tour season rankings after playing just a handful of events including winning their Grand Final. That gave me confidence to turn pro with the promotion onto the Challenge Tour." In November 2018 he finished second on the Challenge Tour rankings after he won the season-ending Ras Al Khaimah Grand Final in the United Arab Emirates, which earned him a card on the European Tour. (alpstourgolf.com, 21 May 2021, 16 Nov 2018; europeantour.com, 03 Dec 2019; skysports.com, 03 Nov 2018)

FRIENDLY RIVAL
He is a longtime friend of Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who won the 2021 US Open. He says he has sought advice from Rahm and that he hopes to emulate his achievements. "I've known Jon since we were kids. We played a lot of tournaments together and we used to room together when we played European events. We've been friends for a long time. I sometimes ask him for advice, as he's already done so much in the game. But at the same time I want to be where he is now - we've always been competitive with each other and I think it's really healthy." (europeantour.com, 03 Dec 2019)

STUDYING IN THE UNITED STATES
He attended Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, United States of America, on a golf scholarship between 2012 and 2016. "I went to college at Texas A&M. They found me when I was younger and invited me to see their facilities. I went to check it out and I really liked it. They were great facilities and they had great coaches. Going there convinced me that I needed to improve my English, which wasn't great at the time, and I felt it was important to get a college degree and also develop as a golfer." (europeantour.com, 03 Dec 2019; 12thman.com, 01 Jan 2016)