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.

Wil Besseling became the second Dutchman to win a BMW Indoor Invitational tournament in three weeks after a two-shot win at Golfclub München Eichenried, on Saturday.

WIL Besseling shot a four-under par 69 to secure a two-shot victory in the latest BMW Indoor Invitational at Germany’s München Eichenried golf club.

The Dutchman finished top of a leaderboard featuring 31 European Tour players in the third of five events in the new series of virtual golf tournaments using the latest simulator technology powered by TrackMan.

Following his victory at the Bavarian venue, Besseling joined his countryman Joost Luiten in the virtual winner’s circle after his impressive win at St Andrews two weeks ago.

Besseling, like Luiten, claimed the first prize of $10,000 towards a charity of his choice.

The 35-year-old opted to split the cheque between two charities that will benefit from the donation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doneereenmondkapje.nl – Donate a Protective Mask – supplies protective masks to frontline workers in the Netherlands, while Bake for Life, a charity close to his heart, creates jobs and sustainable incomes for people in Africa.

Besseling and the rest of the field, including ex-World No. 1 Martin Kaymer and last week’s winner Connor Syme, competed virtually from their own homes in the 18-hole strokeplay event.

Besseling opened his round with a bogey, however picked up two shots on the sixth and seventh before a second bogey of the day came on the eighth hole.

He bounced back to birdied the ninth and the round picked up pace with an eagle on the 11th, plus birdies to follow on 12 and 14.

Despite a third bogey on the 17th hole, it was enough to secure a two-shot win over last week’s winner Syme and Frenchman Alexander Levy, following their 71s.

European Tour’s innovation praised

THE third winner of the series was quick to praise the European Tour for coming up with the virtual golf tournament series.

It has helped occupy players who have been left in limbo during the lockdowns in most European countries – and which have seen more than a dozen regular tournaments cancelled since February.

Besseling said: “It’s a great initiative from the European Tour, BMW and Trackman to get together and organise something totally different compared to what we are used to with normal golf tournaments.

“Virtual golf has been here for a while but not the way in which we have been using it at the moment.

“The last couple of months have been so different to any other period in my career and it has been really exciting to see what it is capable of because it is so realistic. The courses are incredible.

“To have the ability to host tournaments indoors, I was happy to see it as we could not leave our homes, so I entered straight away for all five weeks.

“I finished third and second in the first two weeks of competition, so really cool to get the win now, my first virtual win.

“I had a rough start.” Wil added: “I got it going in the middle of the round and thought I still had a chance, so nice to have that feeling again.

“Even with it being indoors and being by yourself in a room, having a shot of being able to win something was exciting for me.”

Masks crucial for key workers says Wil

BESSELING was also pleased to be able to make a difference to two causes that are close to him for different reasons.

Each of the five tournament winners in the BMW Indoor Invitational receive $10,000 to give to good causes of their choice.

“I am very happy to be helping out two charities by winning this week and hopefully changing people’s lives for the better,” said Besseling.

“Half of my donation will be made to Doneereenmondkapje.nl who are doing great things in the Netherlands.

“They donate the money they make to buy protective masks for hospital staff, healthcare workers, and those people delivering essential services to make sure they are all protected.

“The remaining $5,000 will go to Bake for Life. It is a different charity but also a great one where they open bakeries in Africa, creating jobs for people and selling bread to generate their own income.

“It started close to my hometown and I think it is a great initiative to help people in the world by not only giving them money – but also creating jobs and helping them develop a sustainable living.”

Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin and home favourite Kaymer finished tied fourth at Golfclub München Eichenried with a one-under 72.

Somerset’s Laurie Canter and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert were a further shot back.

Tournament footage was shown on the European Tour’s social media channels with fans following using #BMWTrackManInvitational.

Valderrama and Wentworth to come

FOOTAGE of the BMW Indoor Invitational is available on the European Tour’s social media channels
Twitter: @europeantour
Instagram: @europeantour
YouTube: EuropeanTour and
Online https://bmw.trackmaninvitational.com

•The last two BMW Indoor Invitational events are at Valderrama on May 30, and Wentworth on June 6.

The post Wil Besseling goes 3-2-1 to land his first BMW Indoor Invitational title in Munich appeared first on Golf North.

Dutchman Wil Besseling is hoping for a late run at the Challenge Tour Grand Final, at Mallorca’s lub de Golf Alcanada. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

WIL Besseling goes into the Challenge Tour Grand Final with a real chance of earning a European Tour card at the end of the week.

Such an outcome would complete a drastic change in fortunes for the player ranked No. 18 on the Road to Mallorca going into the season’s climax on the Spanish island.

The Dutchman was the first man to miss out on a spot in the season-finale in 2018, finishing 46th in the rankings.

And, prior to the event, Besseling was just 359 points behind last-man-in Antoine Rozner.

However, bolstered by a tie for third place at the Hainan Open, Besseling will tee it up at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca, just two places outside the all-important top 15 with success on Sunday at the forefront of his mind.

“Being here and being in the Grand Final is nice,” said Besseling. “The Challenge Tour has done a good job in finding this place and having the Grand Final here.

“I’ve been playing decent over the last two months. I feel my game has grown and mentally I’m getting stronger so hopefully I can do well this week.

“Obviously I need a good finish here to get my card, but I’m feeling confident to actually do it, so hopefully on Sunday I’ll be able to get my card,” Besseling added.

“It’s a new course for everyone so it’s hard to think about scores, so I’m not thinking about that.

“You need to do everything well to actually win this event because everyone is playing well and everyone’s got a chance to win this week.”

The 33-year-old Dutchman was in contention for his first European Challenge Tour win in 11 years in Hainan.

But after finding the water on the penultimate hole he carded a double-bogey, that forced him to settle for a share of third place.

A tied 46th place finish in the Foshan Open ended a strong two weeks for the man from The Netherlands – during which he more than halved his Road to Mallorca ranking.

Besseling said” “I was 40th going into China so missing out again did go through my mind. But I felt good going into those events.

“The last few months have been going well so I was happy to be in contention in the first week in China in Hainan.

“I actually expected a bit more in the second week. I wanted to be in a similar position to the week before – but that’s golf I guess.

“I was pretty pleased with how I played in China and it gave me a chance to get my card this week. It’s been good and hopefully I can get the job done.”

The Challenge Tour Grand Final is the 24th and final event on the Road to Mallorca, where the top 45 players compete for one of 15 European Tour cards on offer.

Such is the breakdown of prize money this week in Mallorca, any player will graduate to the European Tour with a victory – giving everyone in the field a shot at glory.

There are nine English and three Scots in the field. Gleneagles’ two-time winner Calum Hill heads the money list while Hampshire’s Richard Bland will be hoping for a repeat of his Challenge Tour Grand Final win in Bordeaux, in 2001 – still the 46-year-old’s only victory of his professional career.

Bland, who is ranked third, is one of three English players inside the top 15 before play commences.

The likes of Cheshire’s Matthew Jordan (10th), and Lancashire’s Jack Senior (7th), who have a win each on the Challenge Tour in 2019, are hoping to maintain their place in the top 15 to ensure graduation.

Meanwhile Wiltshire’s Ben Stow (17th) will be hoping to move up at least two places to gatecrash the party.

Oliver Farr (15th) and Rhys Enoch (25th) will fly the flag for Wales this week, while Cormac Sharvin is Northern Ireland’s sole representative in Mallorca, sitting pretty currently in ninth place.

Playing privileges on the top tier is not the only prize on offer this week, as the battle to be crowned Challenge Tour No. 1 reaches its conclusion.

Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who is currently second, hopes to make up the 5,277 points to overtake Hill at top – and prevent any charge from Bland, who is another 1,712 points behind.

The Challenge Tour Grand Final will begin at 7.30am GMT with France’s Ugo Coussaud, Somerset’s Laurie Canter and Spaniard Carlos Pigem playing in the first group out, with Besseling set to go off at 9.09am.

•For live scoring click here.

The post Besseling hoping to reverse 2018 and move into top 15 at final Road to Mallorca event appeared first on Golf North.