Another new initiative from the ever-inventive European Tour although, in essence, this event remains the Lyoness Open (before that it was called the Austrian Open) and we have plenty of course knowledge because Diamond Country Club has hosted it eight times.
The new lease of life comes with a whopping big clue in the new title: The Shotclock Masters. Players will have to play every shot within 40 seconds (50 if they are first in the group to play) and as simple as it sounds the administration of it is quite complex: checking buggy battery life will allow them to carry a clock for 18 holes, ensuring the apps required for each group will have connectivity across the course, increased staff numbers, etc.
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Will the format impact on the golf? Will speedy golfers thrive and tardy ones suffer? Perhaps the real impact will be felt during the back nine on Sunday. One thing’s for sure: It would have made the final three-ball in last week’s Memorial tournament speed up and that would have done everyone a favor.
The field has been somewhat decimated by the two Rolex Series events which have preceded it and the U.S. Open which follows. Also note that Sectional Qualifying for the latter takes place this Monday and it’s entirely possible players who earn a spot at Shinnecock Hills will subsequently pull out from Austria.
Format details
As noted above, 40 seconds allowed per shot but 50 for the first player in the group to hit. Each player has two time-outs per round, for which they get double time. The penalty for going over the limit is one shot which will be displayed by a red card against their name on the leaderboard.
The Course - Diamond Country Club
The Jeremy Pern design has six putting surfaces which sit not only by water, but are perched out into it on mini-peninsulas, framing the target with water (and, in all, nine holes have water hazards). A par-72, it is set at 7,417 yards with a course record of 64 shared by Adrian Otaegui (2016) and Daniel Im (2014). It is built on an abandoned industrial site which was bombed by the Allies during the Second World War. Some bomb craters have been turned into grass bunkers and ruined structures remain on the site.
Past winners at Diamond CC, Winning Scores and Stats
2017 -12 Dylan Frittelli (DD: 13, DA: 9, GIR: 13, Scr: 3, PA: 14, AA: 1)
2016 -13 Ashun Wu (DD: 19, DA: 29, GIR: 6, Scr: 6, PA: 2, AA: 2)
2015 -15 Chris Wood (DD: 51, DA: 11, GIR: 6, Scr: 3, PA: 6, AA: 14)
2014 -12 Mikael Lundberg (DD: 61, DA: 24, GIR: 20, Scr: 4, PA: 1, AA: 10)
2013 -17 Joost Luiten (DD: 22, DA: 2, GIR: 1, Scr: 31, PA: 21, AA: 2)
2012 -19 Bernd Wiesberger (DD: 1, DA: 24, GIR: 11, Scr: 3, PA: 2, AA: 1)
2011 -12 Kenneth Ferrie (DD: 38, DA: 14, GIR: 4, Scr: 1, PA: 16, AA: 4)
2010 -17 Jose Manuel Lara (DD: 16, DA: 1, GIR: 8, Scr: 11, PA: 3, AA: 1)
Notes: Fast starts have been useful. Lara, Luiten, Lundberg and Wood were all T2 or better after 18 and 36 holes prior to completing their wins. On the other hand Ferrie, Wiesberger and Frittelli were all outside the top 20 after the first round and two of them out of the top ten after two rounds. Five of the eight winners ranked in the top two for All-Round.
The Weather
Sunny throughout the week except for Saturday which has a strong chance of showers. Thunderstorms are a possibility all week. Wind (or at least high wind) is unlikely to be a factor.
The Leading Contenders
Dean Burmester - LATE WITHDRAWAL
A return to the event after debuting back in 2016 when he posted T38. He’s an improved golfer these days and his participation is interesting, but he’s also probably seeking to make the most of an extended trip to Europe. Opened with a 66 at Wentworth and hung around the top 20 all week before earning a nice check from T12. That effort and T30 last week in Italy reads well against this field.
Erik Van Rooyen - LATE WITHDRAWAL
This week will be not only be his tournament debut but also his first time playing in Austria and it represents a fine opportunity. He has been impressive all season and is now faced by a field he could easily take advantage of. Has six finishes of T21 or better on the circuit this year and translated that to the big fields with T20 at Wentworth and T42 last week in Italy. The latter would have been much better, but for a poor third round.
Lee Slattery
Slightly surprising that he remains in the field given the boost to his fortunes last week. Perhaps beware a late withdrawal, but also consider that he might be keen to ride the wave and capitalise on the good form. Led at Gardagolf after 54-holes, faced the biggest win of his life, whilst in a pretty desperate run of form, and his caddie was injured on the back nine, yet he withstood it all and recorded comfortably the biggest check of his career (and solo third). A six time visitor to Diamond CC and has recorded two top tens, with a best of T4 in 2014.
Matthias Schwab
This week has the look of massive opportunity to it for the young Austrian who has been so impressive since turning pro this time last year. Played this event five times and made four cuts, also three times shown up in the top ten during the week but yet to return better than T14. His CT debut season reaped 16 made cuts and he has seven top 30s this calendar year. T42 last week at the Italian Open.
Paul Waring - LATE WITHDRAWAL
Yet another with course vibes. His first start was a slow T60, but he followed it with T5 in 2013, contending all throughout the week, then he returned last year and opened with a 68 for T8 before ending the tournament T52. Back in 2008 he managed T13 in Austria on the Challenge Tour. Ended a run of six weekends of golf with a missed cut in Italy. Highlights were T9 in the Trophee Hassan II and T11 in the Rocco Forte Open.
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Can he contend again? Can he win again? If the answer to either is yes then this could be the spot because he calls Vienna home these days since marrying a local. Winner of the Champions Tour Regions Tradition and T5 in the Senior PGA Championship last month he impressed with a scintillating final round 63 for T14 in last week’s Italian Open. He’s 6-for-7 in the tournament, 4-for-5 on the course, all of those cuts made reaped top 20 finishes; the exception, however, was last year.
Ashun Wu
The Chinese short game wizard likes it on this Pern-design. He posted 69-72-65-69 to win in 2016 and on defense he carded 70-75-69-68 to end the week T10. In the former he was up to his usual tricks, ranking first for Total Putting, but last year was a different game: he ranked second for Greens in Regulation. T7 in the recent China Open and made the cut in Wentworth and Italy.
Mikko Korhonen
This is a course for specialists and the Finn is one of them. He’s 6-for-6 with five top 25s and in the last two appearances he has peaked: T9 in 2015 then T2 last year. He also boasts a couple of top 25s on the Challenge Tour in the country so apple strudel suits him. Missed the cut last week in Italy but before that T15 in the BMW PGA Championship and a season high of T3 in the Tshwane Open.
David Horsey
Made his tournament debut at Fontana with T10 and first two experiences of Diamond CC were poor (both MC), but since then hasn’t missed a weekend. T9 in 2014 and T2 last year suggest he’s got a great chance this week. His form doesn’t though. Was T2 after 18 holes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai but didn’t kick on and T13 in Qatar is his only top 20 this year. Missed three cuts on the bounce.
Lorenzo Gagli
It’s been a good year for the Italian and he maintained it last week with T14 in the Italian Open, his sixth top 40 finish of the season and easily his most lucrative. It helped him jump to 100th on the Race to Dubai. Add in a win at the Kenya Open and he can be happy with his work. He has mixed experience of Diamond CC: T10 in 2013, but the other two visits were short ones.
The Next Rung
Nicolas Colsaerts
Impressive when T7 in the Belgian Knockout there was every reason to think he might kick on at either Wentworth or in Italy. He was T3 at the former last year and has a good record in the latter. Alas missed the cut in both, although after a terrible opening lap of 74 at Gardagolf he did bounce back with 68 which suggests the good form remains within his grasp. T14 in this event when it was on the Challenge Tour in 2002, but not top 40 in five returns to the country since.
Soren Kjeldsen
Two visits to the event and two very similar results. In 2013 he posted 71-77 to miss the cut and 12 months later he opened with a 74 before another Friday 77 confirmed a second missed weekend. His only Austria visit on the Challenge Tour reaped a MC so not great omens. A tough year so far. He did qualify for the head-to-head stages of the Belgian Knockout in third, but otherwise no top 30 all season.
Nino Bertasio
Two tidy course performances and the field is weaker this year so every chance to maintain the upward curve. He was T19 on debut in 2016, then T10 last year when closing with a 67. Season ticking along, but he failed to kick on from halfway top ten positions in China and Wentworth. Missed the cut last week at his home course so might have the bit between his teeth.
Gregory Bourdy
His record on the two tours in Austria is quite the contrast. On the Challenge Tour he slumped to three missed cuts, but on the main tour? T11 in this event in 2006 and then when it moved to Diamond CC he found a real golfing home: T18 in 2012, T8 in 2013 and then it got better. He led through 54 holes in 2015 before a final lap 78 left him T6. Then in 2016 he led after 36 holes before again managing only T6. Cannot get his season going however. 14 events in and still after a first top 30.
Andrea Pavan
There are some odd patterns among these record books and here’s another. Bourdy has been good in Austria on the ET but not the CT; Pavan is the other way around. T2 and T5 in the second tier’s Karnten Open, he has managed only T59-MC in this tournament. Notched eight top 30s in the season but in recent weeks gone MC-T52-MC.
Jeff Winther
In theory the consistent Dane has a good week to try and step up to the plate, but whether it happens is another question. Why? Because two appearances in the event have reaped MC-MC and he’s broken 75 just one in four attempts. Has seven top 30s this year but not one top ten. Missed the weekend in both recent Rolex Series events.
Sebastian Gros - LATE WITHDRAWAL
His one start in Austria on the Challenge Tour was impressive (T3 2015 Karnten Open) but he missed the cut the only time he teed it up in this event (12 months ago). Impressive at Wentworth where he contended for longer than the mere facts suggest, then missed the Italian cut by one.
Bradley Dredge
A three-time visitor to the Diamond Country Club yet without a top 40 in that time and he’s only gone sub-70 in one of his ten laps there. He’ll remain a player of interest to gamers and backers, however, based on experience and the lack of it elsewhere in the field. He’s a two-time ET winner, but the brutal reality is that he hasn’t made the top ten since August 2016 and has a best of T13 this season (Trophee Hassan II). Was T23 last week however.
Oscar Lengden
The Swede gets his chance in a weakened field. He won on the Nordic League and the Challenge Tour last year, but couldn’t graduate. This season he has three top tens, including one win, on the second tier and was T4 only last week on the other side of the Alps in Switzerland. Very limited experience of the top table but was T5 in last year’s Czech Masters (similar level field).
Laurie Canter
193rd in 2016, 155th in 2017 and 124th so far this Race to Dubai, there is a sense that the Englishman is coming to grips with the challenge at the top. This season opened with T16 in the Mauritius Open and although he hasn’t bettered it since, he is on a run of 4-for-4 and was T36 last week in Italy.
Sleepers
Richard McEvoy
There’s something about the Alps and schnitzel that gets the Englishman going. Five top tens in 13 CT and ET visits to Austria including T3 and T5 in the last two years here.
Gary Stal
A winner in Austria on the second tier and 5-for-5 on the course with a pair of top tens in 2015 and 2016. Rebuilding his career on the second tier this season.
Minkyu Kim
Won the D+D REAL Czech Challenge two weeks ago to become the youngest ever Challenge Tour winner at 17 years and 64 days. A two-time winner on the EuroPro Tour last year.
Mikael Lundberg
The Swedish veteran plugs away and has always had the habit of showing up in cross events and depleted fields. Winner here in 2014 with weekends scores of 76-65.
Henric Sturehed
A minor tour performer who gained his ET card at Q School and struggled, but his T5 in the Open de Espana was impressive.
Sepp Straka
Local who focuses on the Web.com Tour but has played this event four times and last year led through 18 and 36 holes before finishing T7. Briefly lead on the Web.com last week with a first round 65.
Nico Geyger
Having a season of minor highs: T12 in the Oman Open, led the Belgian Knockout after R1, two CT top five finishes. Missed the cut on only previous start.
Scott Fernandez
Tournament debut but ticking along quite nicely for a Challenge Tour grad who didn’t enter his rookie year with lots to shout about. T43 at Wentworth.
Johan Carlsson
Lost his ET card last year and injury, plus limited opportunities, mean he’s done little so far to revive his career. Opened the campaign with four missed weekends but was T6 last year (T2 with 18 holes to play).
Who’s On The Team?
Mikko Korhonen will fancy this week and Ashun Wu is another course specialist.
Beyond that do I look to exciting youngsters like Matthias Schwab or nuggety veterans such as Gregory Bourdy who clearly love the track?
Full team revealed in Tuesday’s Playing the Tips column.
One To Swerve
The very best of Nicolas Colsaerts would contend in this field, but there’s something not quite ticking at the moment and little in his course form to suggest a change this week.
