One DP World Tour winner’s hopes of clinching the Omega European Masters depend largely on the decision he’s about to make on his golf clubs…

It’s the worst nightmare of any golfer of any level. There’s no feeling quite as sinking as stepping off a plane in another country only to find your clubs haven’t made it with you. It’s particularly galling when you require those clubs to go to work that week.

That’s exactly the position Rafa Cabrera Bello found himself when he landed in Switzerland for this week’s Omega European Masters.

The Spaniard, whose most recent of his four DP World Tour wins came at his home open in 2021, managed to cobble a set together thanks to the generosity of some members at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club and Masters champion Adam Scott. Sort of. The Australian isn’t in the field, but a set of his Titleist 681.AS irons just so happened to be on the manufacturer’s tour truck on site.

Now, though, Cabrera Bello has what he is describing as a “big dilemma”.

That’s because the 42-year-old – who has missed the cut in five of his last six starts – will head into the weekend in a tie for 5th at 9-under-par, four back of leader and defending champion Thriston Lawrence.

The predicament he finds himself in, though, is that his bag has now found its way to the Swiss Alps.

“I really don’t know what to do!” he told the Tour’s website, before seemingly talking himself into putting his own set in play.

“I will probably play with mine tomorrow,” he said. “I try not to be superstitious, but you know, the way I think about it is: if I play bad with someone else’s clubs, that’s fine. I am playing good with someone else’s clubs, but there’s no guarantee I will play good with someone else’s clubs tomorrow.

“If I don’t play good tomorrow, I will always have the question: what if I would have played with my clubs? Again, you can say the inverse, but I think it makes sense to use my clubs.”

Once the tournament is over, Cabrera Bello faces another big equipment decision. He usually plays with the cavity-back Titleist T100 irons, but he is now questioning that particular decision.

“It’s been funny playing with Adam’s [irons],” he explained. “It made want to go back to blades again.”