Less than a year ago, Robert Moran called time on an amateur career and he ended it on a high as the reigning Irish Close champion and runner-up at the North of Ireland Championship where he lost on countback.
He opted to turn pro after finishing third at Alps Tour Q-School last November, and his rookie campaign has delivered just about everything apart from a victory.
In 15 Alps Tour starts, he’s made 12 cuts, finished in the top 10 on four occasions, and posted a runner-up finish at the Alps de Andalucía in July, earning almost €4,000 for his troubles. This week, the top prize is €10,000, but more important than the money are the Order of Merit ranking points, however, as the top five on the rankings at season’s end all earn Challenge Tour cards for 2025.
Looking to follow in the footsteps of Ronan Mullarney, who topped the Alps Tour Order of Merit in 2023, and Conor Purcell who competed on the Alps Tour in 2022 before earning promotion and is now virtually guaranteed to earn himself a DP World Tour card after a stellar year on the Challenge Tour in 2024.
It’s a big ask, but with 9,500 Order of Merit points going to the tournament winner, should Moran find himself top of the leaderboard after the 54 holes conclude on Friday, he’s guaranteed to rise into the top five.
And he wouldn’t be the first Irishman to lift the Grand Final trophy. In 2022, Jonathan Yates took the title at Asolo Golf Club, but we’re at a different venue this week as Golf Club Monticello will be hosting the Alps Tour Grand Final for the first time.
Playing in threeballs, the groups will start in reverse Order of Merit order, meaning Moran will be in the fourth-to-last group to get underway in Wednesday’s opening round.
The Founders’ Course at Monticello, located just south of Como, will play as a 6,410-metre par-72, and the small greens and heavy bunkering that surrounds them means that accuracy on approach will be key to low scoring.
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