Dubai: Ricardo Gouveia is looking to cap off the Road to Oman with victory in the European Challenge Tour’s season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Muscat this weekend.

The 24-year-old leads the overall standings by €3,980 (Dh16,100) and has already earned his European Tour card for next season, but needs one final flourish to confirm the Order of Merit title.

Speaking at the European Tour’s Performance Institute (ETPI) at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Monday — where the Challenge Tour players are training ahead of their trip to the sultanate — Gouveia said confirming overall honours would set him up well for his promotion to the main tour next year.

“Victory would guarantee the Road to Oman so that’s the goal this week,” said Gouveia, who has 11 top tens including one victory this season. “Everyone looks to who finishes first, not second, and for me it would give me a lot of confidence going into next year.

“If you finish top in the Challenge Tour you know you can play the game and have the ability to do well on the main tour. A lot of big players have previously proved that and hopefully I’ll be the next one to do that.”

Asked if he was worried about being pipped to the post at the final event this weekend, he replied: “I’m not really worried about the permutations of who can catch me, I’m just going to focus on my game and I think I’ll be fine.

“I’m confident with how I’ve played this year, I’ve been really consistent and even when I didn’t play well I’ve scored well. That’s given me good confidence and if my game is at 100 per cent I’ll be looking forward to the challenge this weekend and coming out on top.”

Gouveia added that he wouldn’t be overawed in the main tour next season, after confirming his card with a top 15 finish in this year’s Road to Oman. “I’ve played a few European Tour events before and I know the quality of those events, the cut is lower, courses are harder and the winning scores are lower, but I know I’m going in the right direction, I’m a hard worker and if I keep polishing my game I know I’ll be fine next year.

“I think if I could qualify for the DP World Tour Championship next year it would have been a great first season on tour for me. My main goal after that is to break into the top 50 in the world rankings. If I keep playing well I feel I can get there.”