When Gordon Manson returned home after his Swiss Seniors Open victory last week, the euphoria of winning a maiden Senior Tour title was heightened further by the news that a former student of his in amateur golf, Bernd Wiesberger, had doubled the Austrian win count.
News of Wiesberger’s win at the Alstom Open de France was the cherry on the cake of a breakthrough week for Manson, who had not previously won in his five-year career on the Senior Tour but who is now ready to take on the world.
You might say I only played a small part in his success but it’s nice to have been involved at all and it’s just great what he’s done
The Scottish-born Austrian will be hoping to continue his purple patch, which also included a runner-up finish to Peter Fowler at the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship last month, at this week’s WINSTONgolf Senior Open in Germany before heading for The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex.
Manson is not only feeling encouraged by his own superb form, but also by a sense of confidence Wiesberger has inspired in all players from Austria, having continued his meteoric rise to the highest echelons of world golf with a win in France.
“It was a great feeling,” said the 55 year old of his victory at Bad Ragaz last week. “It was a little bit of a feeling that something has finally been completed. You play tournaments and maybe have a good tournament but there was always a feeling that I could have done a little bit better, whenever someone finishes ahead of me.
“So it was quite a feeling to stand on the 18th green and have a few putts for the win, then hole the second putt and walk off there top of the pile.
“I’ve been playing on the Senior Tour five years now and the tournament before I finished second at Close House. That was the first time I really thought, you know what Gordon, you can really do this out here. I put a bit of pressure on Peter (Fowler) and finished well to get second place.
“I was working towards it and I was always getting a little bit more confidence. I started to putt a little better and started to believe a little more and for me, at 55 years of age and this late in my career, I still have not had anything better than that.
“I got home and my wife said Bernd had won as well. I looked on The European Tour website and there was Bernd holding that great trophy in France and then on the Senior Tour website, there was Gordon Manson holding the other trophy.”
Manson’s association with Wiesberger began many years ago, but he saw the star potential from their very first encounter. He takes up the story…
“I first saw Bernd when he was 13 years of age - he was down in Slovenia playing an event with his dad caddying,” he said. “He was getting some experience and I was the national coach for Austria down there with the team.
“I looked at the scoreboard and saw a few other guys from Austria so I wanted to see who they were, making the effort to go all that way to play a tournament. I followed Bernd and his dad for nine holes.
“I watched him play, he was terrific, spoke to them afterwards and introduced myself. I got back to Austria and called our national boys’ team coach and said, ‘this guy is in your team from tomorrow, get in touch with him’.
“It’s been a pleasure to follow him in his success ever since. I worked with some great young players from ten years of age and many of them have gone many different ways. Bernd has had the most success on the golf course.
“You might say I only played a small part in it but it’s nice to have been involved at all and it’s just great what he’s done. I think for me, when he was playing the Masters – such a great event – I thought, he’s come a long way and he’s not finished yet.
“Markus Brier showed a lot of the guys what can be done, Bernd is really showing what can be done and that must be a boost for the young guys coming through because they can say, he’s from Austria and look what he can do, if he can do it we can do it. That’s pretty much how it works, you start to believe in yourself.
“It’s not a big country but we’ve got a few youngsters and I think it’s terrific that we have young players playing so well.”
Aside from watching his former protégés continue to fly the flag for Austria at all levels of the game, Manson has his own work to attend to, not least in Germany this week and at Sunningdale’s Old Course in two weeks’ time.
“For obvious reasons now, my swing is a little bit looser, my putting stroke is a bit freer and that’s the effect I think a win has,” he said. “I’m looking forward now to the Senior Open and taking good form into a Major Championship. I think a course like Sunningdale can suit me because I’m a pretty straight hitter so I’m looking forward to taking on the biggest players in senior golf from Europe and the USA.
“My confidence is up, I have more and more belief and that has set me up for the rest of the season and looking into the future, next season I’m going to be here battling it out and that’s going to be a big boost.
“This is the third time we’ve played this course and it’s grown in beautifully, the rough is up and a little bit stronger. It’s so green and the green surfaces are good, they putt beautifully. It’s a good variation of holes and a good test and I think it’s a good preparation for a Major Championship.”
