Photo by: England Golf
After Sleeping in a Car, Ravetto Earns Biggest Win of Career
8/31/2020 8:13:00 AM | Men's Golf
TCU Alum Finds A Way
FORT WORTH – On Aug. 21, David Ravetto (TCU '19) won the English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Sherwood Forest Golf Club in England. The best win of Ravetto's life followed an unconventional travel schedule.
Ravetto was scheduled to fly into England from France on Sunday, Aug. 16. However, that all changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ravetto found out on Friday morning that a new rule for border security would go into effect at 4 a.m. on Saturday. The new policy stated that any visitors from France would have to quarantine for 14 days. So, the Parris native made the late decision to board a ferry to England.
With 90 minutes to spare, Ravetto's ferry from France made it to England at 2:30 a.m.
"I drove through the night and arrived at the place of the tournament at 6 a.m. in the morning," said Ravetto. "I didn't have any accommodations or hotels so I slept in my car for the first night."
Ravetto slept from 6 a.m. – 11 a.m. in an Aldi parking lot in a 1996 Peugeot 106, a vehicle one year older than he is, which once belonged to Ravetto's great grandfather.
"I slept in the trunk," said Ravetto. "It was not comfortable at all. When I woke up there were people around me parking to get groceries"
After booking a hotel and getting some much-needed sleep later in the day, he went to practice Sunday night prior to Monday's practice round.
The tournament began on Tuesday and Ravetto fired a score of 66 in the first round, followed by rounds of 72, 66 and 70. Ravetto defeated Texas' Christoffer Bring and Mark Power of Wake Forest in a three-man playoff with back-to-back birdies for the best win of the 23-year old's career.
The result of hoisting the famed Brabazon Trophy increased Ravetto's World Amateur Golf Ranking from 41 to 28. The success continued the following week as he advanced to match play and fell in the round of 16 at The Amateur Championship, held at nearby Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.
Ravetto's rise started towards the end of his senior year at TCU in 2019 when he finished tied for third place at the Big 12 Championship, two strokes out of first place. He was a member of the PING All-Central Region Team and the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. Ravetto remained at TCU this past year to complete his Bachelor's of Business Administration in Marketing degree. He also found time to compete in four tournaments overseas until COVID-19 halted everything.
The global pandemic has continued to disrupt Ravetto's plans. He was scheduled to play in the European Championship in France, Sept. 2-5, but that was canceled. The next scheduled event is the European Team Championship, Sept. 9-12.
Ravetto hopes to turn professional by the end of the season.
Ravetto was scheduled to fly into England from France on Sunday, Aug. 16. However, that all changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ravetto found out on Friday morning that a new rule for border security would go into effect at 4 a.m. on Saturday. The new policy stated that any visitors from France would have to quarantine for 14 days. So, the Parris native made the late decision to board a ferry to England.
With 90 minutes to spare, Ravetto's ferry from France made it to England at 2:30 a.m.
"I drove through the night and arrived at the place of the tournament at 6 a.m. in the morning," said Ravetto. "I didn't have any accommodations or hotels so I slept in my car for the first night."
Ravetto slept from 6 a.m. – 11 a.m. in an Aldi parking lot in a 1996 Peugeot 106, a vehicle one year older than he is, which once belonged to Ravetto's great grandfather.
"I slept in the trunk," said Ravetto. "It was not comfortable at all. When I woke up there were people around me parking to get groceries"
After booking a hotel and getting some much-needed sleep later in the day, he went to practice Sunday night prior to Monday's practice round.
The tournament began on Tuesday and Ravetto fired a score of 66 in the first round, followed by rounds of 72, 66 and 70. Ravetto defeated Texas' Christoffer Bring and Mark Power of Wake Forest in a three-man playoff with back-to-back birdies for the best win of the 23-year old's career.
The result of hoisting the famed Brabazon Trophy increased Ravetto's World Amateur Golf Ranking from 41 to 28. The success continued the following week as he advanced to match play and fell in the round of 16 at The Amateur Championship, held at nearby Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.
Ravetto's rise started towards the end of his senior year at TCU in 2019 when he finished tied for third place at the Big 12 Championship, two strokes out of first place. He was a member of the PING All-Central Region Team and the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. Ravetto remained at TCU this past year to complete his Bachelor's of Business Administration in Marketing degree. He also found time to compete in four tournaments overseas until COVID-19 halted everything.
The global pandemic has continued to disrupt Ravetto's plans. He was scheduled to play in the European Championship in France, Sept. 2-5, but that was canceled. The next scheduled event is the European Team Championship, Sept. 9-12.
Ravetto hopes to turn professional by the end of the season.
Hear from 2020 Brabazon Champion David Ravetto & fellow play-off contenders Christoffer Bring/Mark Power after an exhilarating finish @Official_SFGC.
— England Golf (@EnglandGolf) August 21, 2020
Ravetto: "I slept for five hours on the parking lot, just sucked it up and played good golf!"
Report: https://t.co/TXWqkGD517 pic.twitter.com/r30lSSlBiN
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