Fabrizio Zanotti will embrace defending a European Tour title for the first time at this week’s BMW International Open in Germany.
The 32 year old claimed his maiden victory at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof 12 months ago, in doing so becoming the first Paraguayan player to win on The European Tour, and he is determined to enjoy the experience when he heads to this year’s venue, Golf Club München Eichenried.
“It’s great to be back here in Germany,” he said. “It feels special, I have some great memories here.
“This is a really good track and there are always loads of birdies, so it’s great for the fans.
Fabrizio Zanotti
“This is the first time I’ve defended a title and I’m just embracing everything and not putting any pressure on myself. When you do that, it can have an effect on your game. So I’m just relaxing and trying to enjoy the week.”
When Zanotti came through a four-man play-off with Henrik Stenson, Grégory Havret, Rafa Cabrera-Bello to triumph, the reaction back in Paraguay was huge.
A year on, the Asunción native is delighted to see the impact his win has had on golf in his home country.
“I think my win has helped raise awareness of the game and get more people in my home country playing, which is obviously what I want. Golf is now popular in Paraguay.
“They expect much of me, and they were waiting for me to win, so when I did the reaction was huge. There were so many happy people at home and many parties. It was great."
The victory has raised his profile in Europe too, and on Tuesday Zanotti lined up alongside Stenson and double Major Champion Retief Goosen for the Opening Show.
“It was a lot of fun at the BMW Opening Show,” he said. “BMW always do such a great job with these things, and when Henrik is involved, it’s always going to be fun. He’s always making jokes.”
Turning his attentions back to the course, Zanotti, who is hoping to become the first player to win back-to-back BMW International Open titles, said: “The par threes are good – number two and number eight, which both measure over 200 yards.
On the back nine the 14th hole is a pretty tough par four, at 490 yards. It’s always an important hole here.
“Then 16 is also tricky – sometimes you can go for the green in one, sometimes you have to lay up, depending on the conditions. So there are some interesting shots to make out there.
“They have put some pins back to make it a bit tougher, but I’m sure we will still see lots of birdies.”
He added: “If I was to win again this year, it would be even more amazing than last year. The reaction in Paraguay would be crazy! It would be a much bigger party.”
