Austria’s Roland Steiner is hoping for a repeat of last year’s performance to lead the home charge in the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda.
The 27 year old closed with a round of five under par 67 to finish in a share of fifth place at Golf Club Klagenfurt-Seltenheim 12 months ago, and the home crowd were given plenty to cheer about as three Austrians finished in the top five – Martin Wiegele winning the tournament and Markus Brier also tying for fifth.
Wiegele and Brier are both absent this week, playing on The European Tour at the Saab Wales Open, but Steiner is confident he can help provide another fine home showing.
“I know the course very well because I was a member here when I was in my late teens,” he said. “I only started playing golf when I was 15, so the years when I was 18 and 19 were very important in my development and it was here that my game really progressed.
“So I have a special relationship with this course that you don’t have every week when you play other Challenge Tour events. I also like the course a lot which helps. You need to think about every shot and not just bomb it round, which suits my game. Knowing the course so well is definitely an advantage because the greens can be very tricky.”
Steiner has only played two Challenge Tour events so far this season, missing the cut in the Mugello Tuscany Open and withdrawing from last week’s Telenet Trophy, but he is confident he can kick-start his campaign here this week.
“Unfortunately I haven’t had many chances this year on the Challenge Tour and I was ill last week so I had to withdraw in the second round in Belgium,” he said. “That was very disappointing and I feel like I need to make up for it this week. I am playing well and every time I come here I feel extra confident.
“Playing in your home country is nice because everything is familiar and you feel at home and also the spectators cheer for you which gives you a big lift. I am hoping for a very good week.”
