Bernd Wiesberger is aiming for a double celebration this week as he goes in search of a second win in the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity, and a place in next week’s US Open Championship.
The Austrian delighted the home crowds at Diamond Country Club two years ago, when he surged through the field on a dramatic final day with a scintillating round of 65 – which included six birdies on the back nine – to take the title by three shots from Ireland’s Shane Lowry and France’s Thomas Levet.
Twelve months ago, Wiesberger’s bid to become the first player to mount a successful defence of the title ended in disappointment, as he finished in a tie for 14th place behind Dutchman Joost Luiten.
But having skipped the Nordea Masters to ensure maximum freshness for the 16th edition of the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity, Wiesberger is hopeful of emulating his friend and mentor Markus Brier by winning the €1 million event for a second time this week.
He said: “It’s always a very special feeling to play in front of your home crowd, so hopefully I can give the fans something to cheer about this week.
“I decided to change my preparation this year, because I wasn’t very happy with finishing 14th last year. So I didn’t play in the US Open qualifier after Wentworth, because I’ve never played very well at Walton Heath in the past, and I also decided to miss Sweden last week so that I could focus fully on this tournament.
“I just practised at my home club in Oberwart all week, and now I feel fresh and ready to go again. I have both of my coaches [Damian Taylor and Philippe de Busschere] here with me this week so I’ll be working hard with them on the range over the next few days, and hopefully I can have a better week than I did last year.”
Should he prevail on home soil for a second time, Wiesberger could book a berth in the US Open Championship.
The 28 year old is currently in 69th place in the Official World Golf Ranking, so would need to climb at least nine places ahead of the qualification deadline on Monday morning in order to secure a debut in the second Major of the season.
Victory would almost certainly guarantee Wiesberger a place at Pinehurst whilst second alone would give him a solid chance of moving into the top 60, but he would be dependent on results elsewhere.
Wiesberger said: “I will probably have to win this week to get into the US Open, but I’m not thinking about that at the minute.
“I just want to play well for the home fans, and try to make up for the disappointment of last year. Of course it would be great to play in the US Open for the first time, but at the moment I’m only focusing on this week. It’s my biggest tournament of the year outside the Majors and the WGCs, so I really want to do well.”
Wiesberger is one of 14 Austrians in the field this week, with Uli Weinhandl, Leonhard Astl, Bernie Reiter, Moritz Mayrhauser, Florian Praegant, Lukas Nemecz, Rene Gruber and six amateurs joining him in Atzenbrugg.
