The Portuguese player has enjoyed a stellar season, with nine top-ten finishes to his name, including victory at the AEGEAN Airlines Challenge Tour by Hartl Resort, and looked to have an unassailable lead in the Rankings until the Kazakhstan Open.
Sebastien Gros’ triumph in the Challenge Tour’s highest-prize money event allowed the Frenchman to claim the number one spot, with earnings of €22,000 more than Gouveia.
Both men will be teeing off at Rome’s Olgiata Golf Club, with Gouveia very much the man to watch after claiming his maiden Challenge Tour title in the tournament last year, when he beat Florian Fritsch in a play-off 12 months ago, a victory the 24 year old credits for his form this year.
“Last year was a great event for me, a big turning point,” he said. “It gave me a lot of confidence going through to the final few events of the season.
“It was also a great build up to this season – confidence-wise it was a great boost and allowed me to feel very positive about my game this year.
“The course really suits my eye because it’s quite narrow with trees, and I’m normally a straight ball-striker and pretty consistent off the tee, so I think that gives me an advantage.
“I’ve practised hard since Kazakhstan because I lost a bit of rhythm in the past couple of events, so it was good to get back home and work on a few things ahead of Rome.”
With just four events to play this season, Gouveia and Gros have already made enough money to be guaranteed European Tour spots for next season by finishing in the top 15 in the Rankings.
However, the kudos for topping the rankings means this battle will likely run all the way through to the final afternoon of the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Muscat, Oman, and Gouveia is looking forward to a friendly rivalry in the coming weeks.
“I think it’s great that Sebastien overtook me because now I can focus again and be motivated to get back to the number one spot,” he said. “It’s great for the two of us to be battling for that rankings leader position.
“It’s easier to hunt someone down than be hunted. Having someone to try to reach and overtake is great for my motivation and is driving me to practise harder than ever and hopefully play even better in these final events.”
A strong field is assembling in Italy, with ten other winners on the Challenge Tour this season joining Gouveia and Gros for the sixth staging of the EMC Challenge Open.
Also in the field is Rome’s own Andrea Pavan, a former Challenge Tour Rankings winner currently plying his trade on The European Tour, who tied for seventh place in the event in 2011.
The 26 year old has also tasted Challenge Tour victory on Italian soil, having won the 2011 Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, and is one of 14 Italians hoping to thrill home fans.