Andrea Pavan says coming out of dramatic form slump is 'very pleasing'

Like a fiddler’s elbow, Andrea Pavan has seen his career go up and down. The Italian was flying high on the back of wins in the 2018 Czech Masters then the BMW International Open the following year.

Fortunes can change quickly in this game, though, and Pavan’s loss of form was probably as painful as anyone has experienced in the 50 years of what is now called the DP World Tour.

He made three cuts in 17 starts in 2020 and just two in 19 outings last year. Also in 2020, his average score was 75.37 and last year that was 75.69, which left him last in that category.

It would be cruel to say that the 32-year-old had got to the stage where he couldn’t hit his hat, but his game had become painful for him and also to watch.

Light, though, is appearing at the end of a long tunnel. On the back of a tie for 22nd in last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Pavan is now off to a promising start in the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic.

His five-under 67 was one of the best rounds of the day at Emirates Golf Club, where a welcome return of confidence was illustrated by a gutsy par save at his closing hole.

“Oh, it's definitely very pleasing,” said Pavan of his game starting to pick up again. “At the end of the season, I had a lot of baggage, a lot of stuff going on in my head and I took time off at home.

“I didn't expect to play this well at Abu Dhabi or out here, but I'm very pleased how I'm handling the situation and how I've handled the last two years.”

Having slipped down the world rankings - he was as low as 1,664th before jumping to 1,127th this week - Pavan still has a long way to go to get back inside the top 100.

After feeling a sense of dread for so long, though, about teeing up, he’s back feeling good again about waking up at