Chris Selfridge looking to make big impression in 2016

The 23-year-old is trying to work out any rust by playing in a couple of Evolve Pro Tour events.

He finished tied for fifth at the Hacienda Riquelme Open on Tuesday and declared himself happy with his progress.

“I was actually pleasantly surprised how it went for my first competitive round,” he said.

“I came out here with the intention of getting sharp but I felt pretty good, certainly a lot better than this time last week when I was practicing at home.”

The Moyola man found his feet very quickly as a professional golfer last year. He played in 12 events on the Challenge Tour and made 12 cuts, easily securing his playing rights for the 2016 season.

He travelled on to Euro Tour Q-School and looked set to earn his tour card before a wrist injury forced him out before the final round.

“It suffered a bit of ligament damage and I definitely couldn’t play,” he added.

“It was bad timing in that it was at Q-School but you could also consider it good timing as it happened at a time of the year when I could rest it.

“It needed some treatment but there’s no issues now and I’m ready to start in Kenya next month.

“I’m going to concentrate fully on the Challenge Tour this year, play in all the events and try to make my way onto the main tour that way.

“I probably could get a couple of starts on the Euro tour with my category but I don’t think there is any point in doing that. The only one I would love to play in is the Irish Open at the K Club.

“I have never played in an Irish Open even as an amateur.”

Chris is one of 12 professional golfers who have received funding through the Team Ireland golf scheme.

The two largest allocations in 2016 will go to Paul Dunne and Stephanie Meadow, both of whom will receive €20,000 in funding.

Team Ireland Grant Allocations - Paul Dunne, Stephenie Meadow, Kevin Phelan, Chris Selfridge, Ruaidhri McGee, Gary Hurley, Gavin Moynihan, Cormac Sharvin, Brian Casey, Alan Dunbar, Jeff Hopkins, Reeve Whitson