A tied sixth in a star-studded field at the Hong Kong Open, the penultimate event of The International Series schedule, gave the 44-year-old a wonderful chance of securing his place in the first round of the innovative qualifier which offers three berths on the LIV Golf League roster next term.
But a missed cut the following week at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE ensured a nervous 48 hours as Carballo could do nothing but look on and hope to stay ahead of the other players around him on the International Series Order of Merit.
Ultimately his T6 in Hong Kong and a previous T8 at the International Series Qatar were enough to secure 39th place on The International Series Order of Merit, and claim that precious final spot for the leading 25 available players in the top 40 of the 2023 rankings.
Reflecting on his tension-filled 48-hour wait for confirmation in Indonesia, which included multiple visits to the tournament office to check on the live standings, he laughed: “Once we missed the cut, we were simply relying on what the projection showed. On Saturday it started moving up and down, and up and down, and on Sunday it just went crazy.
“We were out of the rankings and then back in and then out again, there were so many changes. On the Sunday (once play had finished), we were at the 18th lounge with some friends but we still could not celebrate properly.
“We got a call saying ‘wait, you are not officially in yet’, so we had to wait before you can celebrate. But then we got the good news, and it was a real relief.”
Carballo will line up for an 8:50am (local time) Friday tee time alongside PGA Tour of Australasia star Lachlan Barker and Shinhan Donghae Open champion Guntaek Koh from Korea, knowing he needs to finish among the top 20 and ties to secure his place in round two alongside 14 additional players who received first-round exemptions.
Should Carballo make it to Saturday, he will then face another battle to make the final top 20 for a 36-hole shootout on Sunday, with the top three securing places on the LIV Golf roster for 2024.
Weighing up his chances he said: “I feel confident and my preparation has been solid, I have been working hard this week and I’m ready.
“My form has felt great all year and it is a wonder opportunity to be in the field this week, it shows the good year I have had and the opportunities that I took earlier in this year. Those week, the putter was hot, I know the game is there, and this week it is going to be the same plan. To get it on the green and give myself as many chances as possible.”
