By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
at Diamond Country Club
Home favourite Bernd Wiesberger will begin his bid for a second Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity title in the company of Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts and Frenchman Gary Stal when play gets under way on Thursday at Diamond Country Club.
Wiesberger, who hails from nearby Vienna, has an imperious record at the tournament having finished in the top five on four occasions with three of those coming in the last four years at the stunning European Tour Destination - including his victory in 2012.
The World Number 37 will be looking to go one better than 12 months ago – when he lost out in a play-off to Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg – and gets started from the tenth tee at 0810 local time on Thursday morning with Ryder Cup star Colsaerts and Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Champion Stal.
Defending champion Lundberg, meanwhile, kicks off his campaign at 0800 with England’s Chris Wood and promising Frenchman Romain Wattel.
In 2014, Lundberg returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in six years and a gap of 125 European Tour events thanks to a 40-foot birdie putt at the first additional hole with Austria’s Wiesberger and is this week looking to make history by becoming the first player to successfully defend the title.
Elsewhere, 2009 winner Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who fired a sublime Sunday 60 en route to his triumph at the Lyoness Open six years ago, returns from 1300 with Frenchman Gregory Bourdy and Scot Richie Ramsay.
At World Number 76, Ramsay needs to win and await the results of others in order to be in with a chance of rising into the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking and with it earn a place in the field for next week’s US Open Championship at Chambers Bay in Washington.
Seven years ago, Jeev Milkha Singh made 18 straight pars on the final day to claim this title – just the second to do so in a European Tour event following Sir Nick Faldo at The 1987 Open Championship – and after battling back from a shoulder injury the Indian will be hoping to continue some promising form from 1320 with England’s Oliver Fisher and Swede Johan Carlsson.
England’s Sam Hutsby and Italian Renato Paratore hit the opening tee shots of the championship at 0730 on Thursday.
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