He once likened it to the pressures of Q-School.

A qualifying tournament within a tournament, if you will, but now Wade Ormsby can use his previous experience in the Knockout format to go deep at the European Tour’s Belgian Knockout.

Hosted by Belgian star Thomas Pieters at Rinkven International Golf Club, the Belgian Knockout this year has split the field into two halves with 32 players from each section of the draw to advance after 36-holes to a 64-hole matchplay format.

Dimitrios Papadatos, Adam Bland, Nick Cullen, Marcus Fraser, Lucas Herbert and New Zealand’s Josh Geary all advanced to the matchplay section in last year’s inaugural tournament with Geary advancing to the third round before falling to Scot David Drysdale.

This year Ormsby leads an Australian charge that includes Papadatos, Cullen, Bland, Jake McLeod, Deyen Lawson and inaugural ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth champion Brett Rumford.

Like Rumford, Ormsby has experienced a similar format at the World Super 6 Perth tournament, surviving a tense playoff after the third round to advance to the matchplay where he bowed out in the first round.

The 2017 UBS Hong Kong Open champion was tied for 33rd in last week’s Made in Denmark tournament and has a best finish this year of a tie for second at the ISPS HANDA Vic Open where a disaster on the 71st hole prevented a second European Tour title.

The Staysure Tour returns to mainland Europe for the first time this year with the hosting of the Senior Italian Open at the Villaverde Resort in Fagagna where Peter Fowler and Peter O’Malley will tee it up, Fowler finishing tied for sixth 12 months ago.