Ahead of the latest instalment of Challenge Tour action, in the south Austrian state of Carinthia, europeantour.com takes a look at the players to keep an eye on this week at Golfclub Schloss Finkenstein.
Byeong-hun An
Since becoming the youngest US Amateur Champion in 2009, there has been no doubting this young man’s pedigree, and having missed out on graduation to The European Tour last year, the Korean is amongst many people’s favourites to make that all important top 15 this time round. Now 22 years old, and in his third full season on the Challenge Tour, An is starting to show greater consistency in his play, and as a result is already well placed at 19th on the Rankings. Two top 15 finishes – a tie for eight at the Challenge de Catalunya and a tie for 13th last week at the Turkish Airlines Challenge – are a good start, and it would be no surprise if he were to convert that form into a maiden Challenge Tour win this week in Austria.
Dave Coupland
Last week in Turkey the Englishman had the best finish of his embryonic professional career, finishing second in what is only his sixth start on European golf’s second tier. It was an impressive display from the Lincolnshire native, who grew up playing Boston Golf Club, and is proof of the form that saw him finish fourth on last year’s EuroPro Tour Order of Merit to earn his place on the Challenge Tour. He will therefore come to Austria full of confidence, and that is always a dangerous quality in any golfer, so keep an eye out for Mr Coupland this week.
Scott Henry
Is back on the Challenge Tour after a maiden European Tour campaign in 2013, and has made a strong start to this season after a narrow play-off loss to Daniel Brooks at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI. If he can transfer the form of a fortnight ago to Austria, the kind of play that also saw him win in Kazakhstan during the 2012 campaign en route to an 11th place finish on the Rankings, then the Scot could very well be a factor this week.
Moritz Lampert
After success as an amateur around the world, the German burst on to the scene by earning his card at the Qualifying School Final Stage in 2012. However, he was unable to quite find his feet during last season’s maiden campaign on The Race to Dubai, and is now back on the Challenge Tour looking to hit top form once more. Last week in Turkey saw the man attached to St Leon Rot, part of the European Tour Properties Network, finish in a tie for fifth after rounds of 74-72-71-72 for a one over par total at a tough Turkish venue. This week though, scoring will be much lower, and if he finds his best form then he could contend once again in Austria.
Jerome Lando Casanova
The Frenchman led after 54 holes last week, before falling away to a tie for second on Sunday, two strokes adrift of eventual winner Oliver Farr. That runner-up finish was his best on the Challenge Tour, in this, his second season, and follows a tie for fifth at the Challenge de Catalunya just last month. Those two results have the man from Cannes handily placed at seventh on the Rankings, having finished 66th in his first full season in 2013. He is clearly another man in form, and if he were to win this week, it would be no surprise.
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