David Lipsky returns to one of his “favourite places on earth” as he defends a European Tour title for the first time this week in the Omega European Masters.
The stunning Golf Club Crans-sur-Sierre is again the venue for the €2.7million tournament, which features a world-class field including World Number Ten Sergio Garcia and Lipsky’s fellow American Patrick Reed.
Lipsky saw off all-comers last year to add a European Tour title to the 2012 Cambodian Classic he won on the Asian Tour, which again co-sanctions the Omega European Masters.
The 27 year old, who has been paired with the English duo of Lee Westwood and Danny Willett in the first two rounds, arrived in Crans Montana on the back of an encouraging display at St Andrews, where he made the cut in his first appearance in a Major Championship.
That performance has given Lipsky reason to believe that he can emulate the achievements of Seve Ballesteros, the last player to retain the Omega European Masters title.
I only have good memories of Crans, which is one of my favourite places on earth.
David Lipsky
“To have won here and come back as the defending champion is going to be a lot of fun. I look forward to this week every year anyway, but I’ve been looking forward to this particular week for a very long time now.
“It’s nice to come here on the back of a decent result last week. To be honest I set my expectations pretty low at the start of the week after seeing the weather forecast, so to be able to make the cut and play alright was pretty special.”
“Special” was also the word Lipsky used to describe this week’s host venue, which affords spectacular views of the Swiss Alps at almost every turn.
Lipsky also approves of the modifications which have been made in recent years, saying: “I really like what they did with the par three 13th. When I first played here the greens were very different from what they are now, and the constant seeding of the greens has made the hole a lot better.
“Obviously the 18th is also a great hole coming up to the clubhouse, but it’s hard to beat the seventh hole. It’s hard to miss how pretty that hole is, and I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of those views.”
Reed has also been taken by the vistas on his first visit to Switzerland, describing the scenery as “awesome”.
Reed was in need of a pick-me-up after a long week at the weather-affected Open Championship, but the World Number 18 is hopeful of recovering his energy levels as he seeks to secure a first victory in a regular European Tour event.
He said: “With last week being a Major, it’s always mentally tiring anyway but that was especially the case last week, with all the weather delays. The stress levels are also quite high, so the week after is almost like a de-stress and unwind week.
“And it’s pretty easy to relax in a place like this. I’d never been before but had heard good things about the place, and so far everything that’s been said was right. It’s an awesome place, the views are amazing and hopefully I can do justice to the surroundings with some decent golf this week.”
