It wasn’t so long ago that Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño was 27th in the world rankings, having won seven times on the European Tour. Then he decided to move from Madrid to Florida with his wife and three young children to fulfil his goal of playing regularly against the best players in the world on the US PGA Tour.

Now 36, the Spaniard had won as a European Tour rookie at the KLM Open, and followed that up with victories in each of the next three years, also gaining access to the majors and World Golf Championships.

On one occasion at Doral, in 2013, Fernández-Castaño and his wife Alicia Carriles were invited to dinner at Key Biscayne. Interviewed this October for an article by Associated Press, he recalled, ''As soon as I drove onto the island I said, ‘If we ever move to the U.S., it's going to be right here.’” Two weeks later, Fernández-Castaño tied for third at Bay Hill, he also gained a 10th place in the U.S. Open at Merion that summer, and he had won enough money to secure a PGA Tour card. His wife started looking for houses in Key Biscayne.

“And then,” reported Associated Press, “the American dream took a detour. The Spaniard, so congenial and considerate that he once was referred to as the Steve Stricker of the European Tour, narrowly kept his card his first season. He wasn't so fortunate the next year.

“And that wasn't even the low point. Earlier this year on the Web.com Tour, he went two months without playing because he couldn't get in tournaments. He tried Monday qualifying for PGA Tour events, and that didn't work, either. The turning point came at his worst moment. He missed qualifying for the Puerto Rico Open in a play-off, and sought help with a sports psychologist.”

''The way I was treating myself on the course, the things I was saying to myself on the course, I'd had enough,'' Fernández-Castaño said. ''I remember thinking on the plane to Miami, this has to change. You get down on yourself. This is a tough game. There's a lot of time between shots, and a lot of thinking between shots. And when things aren't going your way, it's tough.''

Going into the final month, he wasn't even eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals until a couple of good finishes. In the finals, he started with a tie for 16th and a tie for ninth, and he was back on the main tour.

“Fernández-Castaño missed the cut by two shots in the Safeway Open (in mid-October). This was no time to panic. It's only the start of this second chance. He hopes the rough patch is behind him. His three children – Gonzalo (seven), Lola (six) and Alicia (four) – love their new school and new home. And while last year was a grind, he's had nothing but support from his wife.”

''I'm sure she's had her moments, too,'' he said. ''It's tough when you make such a change, moving overseas, leaving your family and friends behind. It hasn't been easy for any of us. When things are going great, it helps. When you're on the other side, it's hard. If she's ever been down, she never showed it to me.''

According to Associated Press, he plans to play a full autumn schedule, “but he won't fall into the trap of playing so much golf that his mind gets stale”. He had a brief break this summer, when the children stayed in Spain and he took his wife to Pebble Beach between Web.com Tour stops.

''Can you imagine? I've never been to Pebble Beach before,'' he said. ''We just walked around. I didn't play golf. But let me tell you something, that's one tournament I'm never going to miss. What an amazing part of the world.''

As the article noted, the easy road back for Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, after losing his PGA Tour card, would have been to return to the comfort of Spain. “He chose Newburgh, Indiana. There was another stop in Wichita, Kansas. He made his first trip to Beachwood, Ohio.

This is the travel schedule on the Web.com Tour, looked upon as the primary path for young players to reach the PGA Tour. The average purse is about $625,000, which isn't even second-place money on the PGA Tour.

“He has seen more of the world than he intended when he came over to America. All because he wasn't ready to leave.”