From Covid isolation to the European Tour for relieved Richard Mansell

Mansell nailed down his place in the top tier of European golf after finishing fourth in the order of merit on the Challenge Tour following a tied-21st place overall at the Grand Final in Majorca on Sunday.

But the Burntwood 25-year-old admitted his relief to finish in the qualifying top five after testing positive for Covid-19 just before the penultimate tournament of the season days after he finished second in the previous contest, in Cadiz, Spain.

That meant he had to stay in a hotel room for 10 days and face an anxious wait as others tried to leapfrog him into the top five overall and potentially grab his European Tour card for 2021.

However, it transpired that he had enough points in the bank to secure his passage.

“It all worked out well in the end,” said Mansell, a member at Beau Desert Golf Club, near Cannock.

“I had a really good week a couple of weeks ago finishing second at the Andalucia Challenge then I tested positive.

“That meant I couldn’t play that week – and it was on the same course in Cadiz and I was just finding a bit of form.

“Then I was obviously stuck in a hotel room for 10 days and from there I went straight to the Grand Final and got there the night before teeing off for the first round.”

Mansell arrived at the Grand Final in Majorca a week ago – the night before the tournament teed off at the T-Golf & Country Club – and had to rely on the preparation done by caddie Connor Winstanley.

However, he hit the ground running and was tied for the lead after day one and briefly had the lead to himself during the second round

But it was over the weekend’s final two rounds that the after-effects of coronavirus caught up with the former Chase Terrace Technology College pupil.

“I was kind of playing on adrenaline for the first two days, playing really well somehow but then I just ran out of steam,” he told the Express & Star.

“It was a good week, I just ran out of energy to be honest.

“When I was in isolation, I felt I didn’t really have any symptoms but it was early stages. I wasn’t doing anything stuck in a hotel room so I wasn’t using any energy – but when I started playing and walking it caught up on me.

“I was finding it hard to breathe and, as the days went on, it was getting harder so I was glad to see the week finish – to not finish out of the top five and then get home to be honest.”

He was relieved to have secured enough points to see him through – but admitted a few anxious moments when he was forced to isolate.

“I had enough, but you never know how that week goes. I could have had three people finish one, two and three in the final weeks who could have overtaken me and I’d have ended up finishing sixth, so you never know,” he said.

Now he is focusing on taking some time off to recover fully from Covid-19.

“I could have gone out to South Africa and I think I may have got an invite to Dubai next week on the European Tour but I said ‘No, I need to get better’,” he added

“I’m just going to put my focus thing into 2021.”

And with one lifetime’s ambition realised with a place on the European Tour, Mansell is resetting his sights for the coming season.

He added: “With me, it’s a case of every year I’ve got better and moved up the ranks, so it shows that it doesn’t happen overnight and you have to pay your dues.

“That’s what I try to pride myself on and it’s working. When you’re working to get on to the European Tour and it’s then a reality it’s a case of ‘Right, what’s next?’.

“I’m in the top 250 in the world now so now I want to get in the top 200, then the top 100 and top 50 and I want to be playing on the PGA Tour as well and all the Majors.

“If I keep doing what I’m doing then it will happen.”