Marc Warren claimed the fourth European Tour win of his career by holing a five-footer to win the Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club, holding off Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

SCOT Marc Warren ended a six-year wait for his fourth European Tour title by winning the Austrian Open.

Warren, who last tasted victory at the 2014 Made In Denmark, came out on top as the European Tour and European Challenge Tour seasons restarted after a four-month break – due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The 39-year-old from East Kilbride started the final day at Diamond Country Club in a share of the lead with Germany’s Nicolai von Dellingshausen.

But it was an enthralling battle with Spanish youngster Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez which he had to overcome to for his first win in six years on the European Tour.

Warren, who won the 2006 Scandinavian Masters and the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles a year later, was asked what had happened to his game over the past six years?

He said: “What’s happened on the golf course in the years since then? I’ve played very poorly.

“The break has been unfortunate for everyone. But it came at a good time for me, spending some time at home and trying to get my game ready to play golf.

“It was nice to have such a long break with the family. The last few weeks I’ve been able to get some good work done and get ready to play golf.

“Came out of it pretty refreshed,” added Warren, who also partnered Colin Montgomerie in the WGC-World Cup, losing to Germany in a play-off.

“Carrying my bag this week probably helped tone it down a little – just going out and playing and seeing what happens,” he said.

“The result couldn’t have been any better.”

Playing without caddie ‘different’

WARREN admitted it had “been different” playing without a caddie – the first time since 2005, some 15 years.

Mark said: “Hopefully this is the one and only time, no matter what I say. I do enjoy the caddie’s company.

“Especially on days like yesterday. Last night I had a few nice texts from some of the caddies who are good friends.

“I didn’t say it, but I was thinking I could have done with one of them yesterday, it was brutal.

“At times like that you appreciate what a great job they do. I’m looking forward to getting a caddie on the bag again.”

Warren also admitted that he had been watching and also avoiding the leaderboards in round four.

“In my head the tournament doesn’t start until the back nine,” said the Scot who holed the winning putt at the 2001 Walker Cup against the USA at Sea Island, playing alongside Luke Donald, Richard McEvoy and Graeme McDowell – all fellow European Tour winners.

“A lot can happen on the front nine here,” said Warren. “There’s a lot of water about. It was tough. The wind was swirling.”

Marc Warren – a Walker Cup winner in 2001 – pictured front right with Graeme McDowell. Luke Donald, Nick Dougherty, and Richard McEvoy at Sea Island, Georgia

Regaining full status after victory No. 4 ‘huge’

MARC WARREN, who was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 2006 12 months after claiming the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, revealed he nearly made a miscalculation while carrying his own clubs.

“Sebastian got off to a great start, made three at the first. He started 10-under, but I thought he started 11. I had him one shot better than he was,” he said.

“When we got to the last five or six, seeing how tight it was, I was just trying to commit as much as possible to the shots.

“Around the turn I hit a couple of great shots on nine and 10 – made two birdies. Hit a really good iron shot on 11, but the wind didn’t move it and I made bogey.

“I felt like that set me back a little bit. But I holed a good birdie putt on 15 and then a good putt on 17 that was really steep downhill from about 15 feet.

“I was trying to make sure I didn’t run it past. I tried to get the pace right and fortunately it went right in the middle.

“It’s massive. Going from a few hours ago I didn’t have full status. Now to be in a winner’s category and plan the year a little bit is good.

“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, trying to hit one shape all the time, and when I do play – try and do that and try not to mess about too much,” added Warren, whose enjoyed the most successful part of his career after teaming up with the late Bob Torrance.

Marcel Schneider set clubhouse target at 12-under

GARCIA-Rodriguez eagled the first to move to within a shot, and the pair shared the lead coming down the home straight until Marc Warren made his sixth birdie of the day on the 17^th.

Marcel Schneider whose sole win on the European Challenge Tour came in the Swiss Challenge two years ago

Germany’s Marcel Schneider made a run for the title with a three-under par 69 to hold the clubhouse lead on 12-under, as Warren stood on the 18^th tee.

After Garcia-Rodriguez, who trailed by one with one to play, hit his tee shot into the water, Warren needed just a par which he duly converted from five feet.

Schneider, who shot a course record to lead last year’s Euram Bank Open after the first round, said: “I was practising hard during the ‘off-season.’

“It’s nice that it has showed up so quickly. So I’m quite happy with the result,” said the 2012 Australian Amateur Champion.

“There were a few bad shots here and there, in general I’m really happy.

“It helps to get the confidence going. I’m looking forward to next week. I like the course,” added Schneider, whose only Challenge Tour win came in Switzerland in 2018 – after he lost his European Tour in 2017.

Wil Besseling picked up two wins in the BMW Indoor Invitational series during lockdown

Besseling turns virtual victories into lowest score in R4

DUTCHMAN Wil Besseling carded the joint-low round of the day, a six-under par 66, to take solo third.

Besseling won two of the six BMW Indoor Invitational – played on simulators in May and June during lockdown – at München Eichenried and the final one at Wentworth.

Wil said: “Coming back from four months off, it is really nice to play for a win and I am very pleased where my game is at.

“Yesterday was really tough with the rain and today I played good. Hit a few good shots on the front nine to give myself a lot of opportunities, which I made to get me in contention.

“And I managed to stay bogey-free which is very pleasing, especially on a Sunday playing for the win.

“I was struggling on the back nine all week. I hit it in the water on the par five 16th and managed to make par so happy with that.

“But also happy with the outcome overall as it has definitely been a good week.

“I made all my birdies on the front nine this week. Getting out in five-under really helped me, to get to 10-under par.

“And I saw the leaders didn’t run away with it, so I thought give yourself a chance and see what happens.”

Garcia-Rodriguez was joined by Scottish pair Craig Howie and Connor Syme, alongside Holland’s Darius van Driel on 10-under.

•To see the final scores click here.

Adamstal Golf Club has impressive views in the Austrian Alps

Tour stays in Austria with another dual-ranking event

THE season continues in Austria this week with another dual-ranked event.

The Euram Bank Open is being staged at GC Adamstal, and will be followed by the Betfred British Masters at Close House, the first of the new six-event UK Swing.

The post Marc Warren returns from wilderness after six-year wait to win Austrian Open appeared first on Golf North.

Joost Luiten – the winner of the Austrian Open in 2013 – is favourite as the European Tour resumes after a fourth-month suspension because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FORMER Austrian Open champion Joost Luiten returns to Diamond Country Club, the site of his second European Tour victory in 2013, as the favourite for the European Tour’s return to action.

The Dutchman is joined by one of the Tour’s most recent first-time winners in Oman Open champion Sami Välimäki.

The dual-ranked Austrian Open marks the return to golf for both the European Tour and European Challenge Tour after a four-month absence

The 2020 Race to Dubai was suspended after the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, in early March, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It resumes almost four months to the day with the first of two events in Austria, before moving on to the six-event UK Swing in July and August.

Lutien is hoping to pick up where he left off back in the spring.

Joost said: “I started to play well at the last two events before the break. I was up the leaderboard two weeks in a row but couldn’t finish the job

“But at least I was giving myself chances. It wasn’t great timing but, at the end of the day there’s nothing we could do. We had to accept it.

“It’ll be great to have these tournaments on again. We’ve been practising without having any events on the schedule.

“It’s been a bit weird and you find it difficult to find the motivation. Now we’ve been able to get ready for tournaments there’s some adrenaline and excitement going.

“I’ve been trying to get my game back up to tournament level, so it’ll be good to see where it is.

“Practising is always different. But I feel as though I’m hitting the ball well, so I need to see how I do under pressure.”

How Golf South reported Välimäki’s maiden win in Oman in March

Rookie Sami wants more victories

ROOKIE Sami Välimäki announced himself as Scandinavia’s new kid on the block, back in March.

He brought his swashbuckling, winning form from from Germany’s Pro Golf Tour, where he won the last three events of 2019, to the main Tour.

He said: “After the suspension of tournaments around the world, for the first three weeks I felt really disappointed because we couldn’t play golf.

“But after that it was nice to relax with my family and let it sink in that I won on the European Tour.

“It’s something I am really proud of, the way I played and the way I won the Oman Open.

“All of my friends and family were really happy for me, seeing the hard work pay off. So we had a big party to celebrate.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to competitive golf. It’ll be nice playing again.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve played in conditions like these. We’ve had a couple of tournaments back in Finland.

“There are a few things I’ve been working on with my game, so we’ll see what happens.

“I’m feeling good, so you never know. Everyone is in the same situation. It has been very different, so we’ll see what happens over the next few days.”

Recent winners join Jiménez in Austria

BELGIAN Nicolas Colsaerts, winner of the 2019 Open de France, and Sweden’s Anton Karlsson, who won the RAM Cape Town Open on the Challenge Tour, in February, are also in the field.

They travelled to Austria to appear alongside Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, who is making his 705^th European Tour start this week.

That leaves the 21-time European winner just one appearance behind Sam Torrance’s record, which has stood for a decade.

Jimenez, who has been playing on the PGA Champions Tour since turning 50 six year ago, said: “It’s strange when you see a golf course with no ropes or hospitality.

“But it’s nice that they’ve made the effort to put on tournaments and bring people here to play golf.

“When I finished playing at Newport Beach in March, I spent two weeks in my house in the Dominican Republic, and they said everything was locked.

“We stayed there for four months and I arrived here last night.

“I’ve come here because I like the golf course, and my wife is from Austria.

“I’m here to compete. After four months I feel ready. Diamond Country Club is a very nice golf course, very flat – which is good for me.”

Conor Syme looking to go one better than his second place finish in the Shot Clock Masters two years ago at Austria’s Diamond Country Club

Scot Syme keen to take another Shot at Austrian title

Meanwhile, Scot Connor Syme recorded his best European Tour finish so far at the Diamond CC course in 2018. He was runner-up to Finn Mikko Korhonen at the innovative Shot Clock Masters.

Syme said: “I’m delighted to be back. It does feel weird. But it feels safe too – with all the precautions the European Tour are taking to make it possible to play.

“I’m feeling positive about that, which was going to be the difficult thing.”

The 24-year-old from Kirkcaldy added: “I have great memories of playing here.

“It’s the first time I’ve been back since. I’ve been talking my caddie through shots that I played.

“It’s been one of my biggest European Tour highlights, so it’s nice to come back and reminisce.

“We might be a little bit easier on ourselves after bad shots, after four months off.

“I’m expecting to be a bit rusty. But everyone will be in the same boat,” said Syme, who returned to the European Tour after a top 15 finish on the Challenge Tour’s Race to Majorca in 2019,

As per all events on the reshaped 2020 Race to Dubai, the Austrian Open will be governed by the European Tour’s comprehensive health strategy.

Healthcare specialists Cignpost will deliver rapid on-site COVID-19 screening.

All players, caddies and on-site personnel will be tested at the Diamond CC, and future venues, to help mitigate risk of the virus spreading.

Participants will operate within national public health guidelines, including social distancing and following enhanced hygiene directives.

•For live scoring at Austria’s Diamond CC click here.

The post Joost Luiten favourite in Austria as European Tour resumes at Diamond CC appeared first on Golf North.

The Diamond Country Club will host an event on the European Tour for the 10th year in a row in July after it was confirmed the Austrian Open will go ahead as planned from July 9-12

THE European Tour has brought forward the date its tournaments will resume by a week – with the Austrian Open, now going ahead at Diamond Country Club in July.

The news marks the return of the European Challenge Tour which resume its 2020 season with the Euram Bank Open a week earlier.

And the decision to hold back-to-back dual ranking events in Austria next month is a big boost for those players with limited playing opportunities in Europe, and who have no status on the PGA Tour in America.

The Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club, takes place from July 9-12.

It marks the return of the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca after a five-month pause following the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

It will be followed by the Euram Bank Open at Golf Club Adamstal, which remains in its original slot on the calendar – but now begins a day earlier, taking place from Wednesday, July 15 to Saturday, July 18.

Both tournaments will have prize funds of €500,000.

The European Tour will full resumes its 2020 season with the Betfred British Masters Hosted by Lee Westwood at Close House, near Newcastle, from July 22-25 – also a day earlier than originally planned.

The Challenge Tour’s resumption will be five months after Christian Bezuidenhout won South Africa’s Dimension Data Pro-Am.

That win conclude three consecutive weeks in South Africa at the start of the 2020 Challenge Tour season.

From South Africa to Austrian Alps

BEZUIDENHOUT’S victory at Fancourt Golf Estate, in February, followed a win for fellow South African JC Ritchie in the Limpopo Championship, at Euphoria Golf Club.

Sweden’s Anton Karlsson was victorious in the RAM Cape Town Open, at Royal Cape Golf Club during the South African swing.

On the European Tour, the two dual-ranking events in Austria precede the Tour’s full return at the Betfred British Masters at Close House, in the North East.

That event launches a six-week UK swing, alongside the English Open at the Marriott Forest of Arden, the English Championship at Hertfordshire’s Marriott Hanbury Manor, the Celtic Classic and the Wales Open at The Celtic Manor Resort, and the UK Championship at The Belfry.

It will be the third consecutive year the Euram Bank Open has been part of the Challenge Tour schedule.

Dutchman Darius van Driel and Scotland’s Callum Hill won in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Calum Hill winner of the 2019 Euram Bank Open at the mountainous Golf Club Adamstal

Medical protocols guide Tour’s return

Challenge Tour head Jamie Hodges said: “We are pleased to announce the resumption of the Challenge Tour season with the Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club – and the Euram Bank Open at Golf Club Adamstal – two dual-ranking events which will take place in consecutive weeks in July.

“Our measured approach to the 2020 season has mirrored that of the European Tour.

“We have been informed each step of the way by our Medical Health Strategy, led by our chief medical officer Dr Andrew Murray, aligned to individual government safety advice.

“Part of this strategy is to play, wherever possible, in clusters in one territory.

“We are therefore grateful to the Austrian Golf Federation and the two venues – Diamond Country Club and Golf Club Adamstal – for their support in making these events happen.

“We will continue to be guided by the European Tour’s Medical Health Strategy and we will announce details of subsequent 2020 Challenge Tour events in due course.”

Ben Cowen, the European Tour’s deputy chief operating officer, said: “These two dual-ranking events provide vital playing opportunities for our members following the enforced period of inactivity since March.

“We are therefore grateful to both Diamond Country Club and Golf Club Adamstal, as well as the Austrian Golf Federation, for their support.

“We look forward to visiting Austria ahead of the European Tour’s full resumption with the Betfred British Masters at Close House the following week.”

Diamond Country Club celebrates 10th year

DIAMOND Country Club will be celebrating its 10th anniversary as a European Tour host venue next month.

Its president Christian Guzy said: “Diamond Country Club has a history of exceptional moments at the various events we have hosted.

“For example, the tournament 10 years ago was staged at short notice, and two years ago we held the world’s first Shot Clock tournament.

“Accordingly, we enjoy the trust of those individuals who are responsible for the European Tour.

“Due to the coronavirus crisis, this year’s event also takes place under very special conditions.

“There are official regulations, which we will strictly comply with.

“Nevertheless, we want to hold the tournament to the fullest satisfaction of the Tour and the players.

“I would also like to thank the political decision-makers in Austria, whose measures were a great contribution in ensuring golf was one of the first sports to resume.

“The tournament will be a good showcase not only for Austria, but also for the state of Lower Austria.”

The spectacular Golf Club Adamstal in the Austrian Alps will host the dual-ranking European Tour and Challenge Tour event when the Euram Bank Open returns in July

‘Austria leading way for golf and Formula One’

ADAMSTAL president Franz Wittmann said: “I am pleased we have become part of the European Tour with the Euram Bank Open, and that – together with the Diamond Country Club – Austria will be a pioneer in international top-class golf in Europe, following the suspension due to the coronavirus crisis.

“This is comparable with Formula One, as Austria will stage the first two successive races.

“In our country we can be very proud of that. I hope that with this restart, we can also mark a significant return for golf.

“For me personally, I wish that as many Austrians as possible will be represented on the leaderboards of both tournaments.”

Austrian Golf Federation president Dr Peter Enzinger said: “Especially in these unprecedented times, it is a great sign – and a well-earned accomplishment for golf in Austria – that the European Tour and Challenge Tour will restart their seasons after this enforced break with two events on Austrian soil.

“With so much time pressure, it was not easy to accomplish. But the co-operation with the European Tour and the Austrian Ministry of Sports has been outstanding and successful.

“We are very much looking forward to having these events and Golf Club Adamstal and Diamond Country Club – together with the Austrian Golf Federation – will again be perfect hosts and European Tour partners.”

Golfclub Adamstal was the dream of European rallying ace Wittman – who hired respected architect Jeff Howes to build a nine-hole course in 1994 – it was expanded in 1998, with a further nine holes added in 2006.

The 28 holes – the Championship Course has a 19th hole to “settle wagers” – offers some of golf’s most picturesque views on the Continent.

Austria’s Golf Club Adamstal was founded by European rallying champion Franz Wittmann

The post Diamond Country Club will now host first event when European Tour returns appeared first on Golf North.