Jamie Donaldson goes in search of consecutive European Tour wins at the Omega European Masters feeling revitalised thanks to a week off after victory at the D+D REAL Czech Masters.
The Welshman, who is fourth in The Race to Dubai, missed last week’s 71° OPEN D'ITALIA Presented by DAMIANI, won by South Africa’s Hennie Otto, to rest following his third European Tour triumph.
Donaldson is raring to go at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland and the 38 year old will be playing in the tournament for the 11th time.
“The Czech Masters was a great week for me on many levels,” he said.
“I’ve had a week at home with my feet up to recharge the batteries, so I’m raring to again.
“It’s great to be back in Crans as always, and I’m really excited about the week. I love coming back; you never get tired of the scenery.
“It’s one of the first European Tour events I played as sponsor’s invitation back in 2001, so it definitely holds some special memories for me. And I’ve got a pretty decent record here, which always helps.”
Donaldson enjoyed top tens finishes at the Omega European Masters in 2011 and 2012 but missed the cut last year, a reflection of Crans-sur-Sierre’s unpredictability.
“It’s a very good test of golf. It can be a very tricky course, even when you’re playing nicely,” he continued.
“There will be a big emphasis on your short game this week, because the greens are small so it’s going to be difficult to hit every one.
“You have to allow for the fact that you’re going to be chipping a lot, so you have to get up and down when you can and take your chances when they come along.”
This will be the 80th edition of the tournament, which was first played in 1923, and has been held at Crans-sur-Sierre since 1939.
Donlaldson’s relatively recent experience of the Omega European Masters has enabled him to see an evolution of a competition that will next year switch to the week after The Open Championship in July.
“It’s changed a fair bit, especially over the last two to three years,” he reflected.
“The first seven or eight years I came here, the course pretty much stayed the same. But there have been changes this year and there were changes last year, and they’re all for the better from what I’ve seen so far.
“They’ve put a lot of new bunkers in and changed some of the undulations on the fairways, so it feels like a new test and a very good one. The bunkering is much stronger now – it’s better on the eye.”
