Bernd Wiesberger was delighted to continue where he left off in Korea as the Ballantine’s Championship winner opened with a four under par 68 at Wentworth Club.
Despite his first bogey in 67 holes of tournament golf at the ninth, the Austrian managed to six birdies to take an early share of the clubhouse lead at the BMW PGA Championship.
“I didn’t know how I would feel after three weeks off - I really enjoyed the break, but I thought it might take me a while to get my feel and my swing back to where it was,” said Wiesberger, whose win at Blackstone Golf Club made him only the third Austrian to win on The European Tour. “But I got off to a pretty fast start and that got me back into my rhythm again fairly quickly.
“I played really solid golf for the first eight holes, but then unfortunately bogeyed the ninth, which was my first dropped shot in 67 holes of tournament golf. It was a good run, but I suppose it had to come to an end at some time.
“The back nine was much more of the same - I felt in control of the ball and it was a similar feel to my final round in Korea. To finish with a birdie was obviously a great way to end the day.
“It’s been absolutely great. It’s obviously not every week that Austria has a European Tour winner, so I had lots of media to do, which was a lot of fun. Hopefully it will raise the profile of golf in Austria, and get some more young children to take up the game.
“I had always planned to take two weeks off before Wentworth, but I also decided to skip Seville after Korea because I knew there would be lots of interest back home.
“At the moment it’s looking like a good decision, because I feel good and ready to go again. My confidence has obviously gone up a level or two after winning, and hopefully I can keep it going for the rest of the season now.”
Donald had another birdie at the eighth, but bogeys on the next two dropped him to two under.
He was four behind Lawrie, who went to six under on the 11th, while Rose was only one behind after a two on the tenth but bogeyed the next.
