September 22, 2015: Indian golfers Shiv Kapur and Jeev Milkha Singh are in Germany this week for the European Open. The duo finished T33 in Milan last week. After looking good for a much better result at the Italian Open, both men will be disappointed with the final return. They need to put that behind them quickly and look to play a solid game this week to emerge from a star studded field at the Bad Griesbach Golf Resort.
Major Champion Graeme McDowell will headline a strong field at this week’s European Tour event, which returns to the International Schedule for the first time in six years. (Read more in Golf)
The tournament was played every year between 1978 and 2009 in the UK and Ireland and now heads to a Continental European venue – the magnificent Golf Resort Bad Griesbach in the south-east of Germany – for the first time.
It is also a maiden foray into golf for new title sponsors Porsche – something McDowell has welcomed as he makes his first appearance in Europe since The Open Championship two months ago.
“It’s great to see Porsche on board as a title sponsor for the first time in golf – they are an exceptional brand,” said the 2010 US Open winner, whose last European Tour victory came at the 2014 Alstom Open de France.
“Some of the most famous players in the world have won this tournament and it would be an amazing achievement for me to add my name to the list.”
Golf Resort Bad Griesbach, which was previously known as Hartl Resort, has hosted a Challenge Tour event for the past three seasons, which means Germany’s Florian Fritsch is well acquainted with the 7,188-yard Beckenbauer course – named after the World Cup-winning footballer Franz.
“Bad Griesbach has six courses and I shot 64 on the Beckenbauer course on the Challenge Tour last year, so it seems to suit me,” said Fritsch. “I’m very much looking forward to the week.
“It’ll definitely be a great tournament. It’s a great course and it’s not too far from Munich and a few other large towns and cities, so I think we’ll see some big crowds.”
Former Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel is also in the field, as are 2014 Ryder Cup players Jamie Donaldson and Stephen Gallacher, Austrian star Bernd Wiesberger and Swede Rikard Karlberg, who won in Italy last week.
Legend Bernhard Langer, the last German to win the European Open title, in 1995, will have some inside knowledge, having co-designed the course in 2002, while a player hoping to emulate the 58 year old, Dusseldorf man Max Kieffer, is also in attendance.
Popular Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez is aiming to extend his record as the oldest winner on the European Tour, while Italian Andrea Pavan and South African Jake Roos will both be hoping to rekindle fond memories, having won the Aegean Airlines Challenge on the Challenge Tour in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
