Spanish LIV golfer Luis Masaveu will swap the bright lights and $30 million prize purses of LIV Golf this week for the quieter surroundings of the HotelPlanner Tour in his home country.
Just days after teeing it up at LIV Golf Virginia, the 22-year-old is back in Spain competing at the Challenge de Catalunya, where the total prize fund stands at €300,000.
“One of the goals I have this year with my coach and my mental coaches is to try to play exactly the same golf no matter where I play,” he explained ahead of this week’s event.
“Sometimes I struggle too much with thinking about my score. I think our job is to try to shoot the lowest score we can, no matter where we play.
“So yeah, my goal is the same — try to shoot the lowest score I can.”
Masaveu admitted there are obvious differences between the two circuits, particularly with the atmosphere surrounding LIV events.
“Of course, it’s a little bit different: there’s no music, and the course conditions are slightly different, but the goal remains the same.”
Fontanals Golf Club – Getty Images
The Spaniard arrives at Fontanals Golf Club with plenty of confidence after recording two third-place finishes at the venue last year.
“Yeah, I really like it,” he said. “It suits my game. You’ve got to be very good off the tee, and I’ve played really well off the tee the three times I’ve played here.
“So all I’ve got to do is repeat that.”
While many LIV players have largely focused solely on the breakaway circuit and the majors, Masaveu has set himself an ambitious target for the remainder of the season — earning a DP World Tour card through the HotelPlanner Tour, as the young Spaniard sees a pathway back into more traditional golf routes.
“I always wanted to play on the DP World Tour as a kid,” he revealed.
“Now that the DP World Tour is letting LIV players compete without being fined, it became a goal of mine from the beginning of the year to get onto the DP World Tour.”
Masaveu plans to play six or seven HotelPlanner Tour events around his LIV Golf and International Series commitments on the Asian Tour.
“Obviously, it’s going to be very difficult only playing six events,” he admitted. “I’ve got to play really, really good golf, and pretty much all six events have to go well if I want to finish in the top 15 on the Road to Mallorca and earn my DP World Tour card.
“But this week is the start.”
The 22-year-old also addressed the recent uncertainty and speculation surrounding LIV Golf’s future, admitting the reaction within the league initially caught players off guard.
“It was a little bit surprising,” he said. “I think we were more nervous in Mexico when everything first happened because everyone knows what the media can be like, especially now with Instagram and how powerful social media is. Everyone was just throwing out opinions rather than actually knowing what was going on.”
Masaveu, however, believes LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has calmed concerns behind the scenes.
“Once we spoke with Scott, things got a lot better,” he added. “At that point in Mexico, the media was saying we weren’t even going to play again this year, so it was definitely surprising. But I think things are getting much better now.”
Luis is paired in the Challenge de Catalunya alongside last week’s winner, Chris Wood and Road to Mallorca Number One, MJ Daffue.
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