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**truebluefan** · 05-26-2008, 03:39 AM

GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria

**truebluefan** · 07-19-2008, 08:07 AM

All eyes will be on Austria’s Markus Brier as The European Tour Member makes his maiden Challenge European Tour appearance of the season on home soil at this week’s MAN NÖ Open.

Brier – who in 2006 became the first Austrian to win on The European Tour when he triumphed at the BA-CA Golf Open presented by Telekom Austria at Fontana Golf Club, his home club in Vienna – is the red hot favourite to lift the title at GC Adamstal, Ramsau, after recording top ten finishes in his last two European Tour outings, at the Open de France ALSTOM and The European Open at The London Golf Club.

Brier has fond memories of his time on the Challenge Tour, after he enjoyed a hugely successful season in 1999 which propelled him onto The European Tour.

Nine top ten finishes secured Brier more than €50,000 in earnings and helped him secure third place in the Challenge Tour Rankings, which guaranteed him full playing privileges on The European Tour International Schedule for the first time.

Despite his success Brier did not have a Challenge Tour victory to his name, but he corrected that anomaly in 2002 when he triumphed at the Austrian Golf Open, a title he again captured two years later.

Brier will be attempting to win the MAN NÖ Open for the second time, having already captured the title when it was part of the Alps Tour in 2005.

Denmark’s Anders Schmidt Hansen also has fond memories of the 6,476 yards, par 70 course at GC Adamstal after claiming his maiden Challenge Tour title there last year.

Another player who will feel in familiar surroundings is home hope Niki Zitny, who finished runner-up at the inaugural Man NÖ Open in 2006 to Spain’s Rafael Cabrera Bello, who proved he was still very much in form with victory at last week’s Credit Suisse Challenge.

Zitny, whose wife Steffi was the silver medallist in the 800m at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, was the best man at Brier’s wedding in 1998.

**truebluefan** · 07-19-2008, 08:08 AM

Finland’s Toni Karjalainen stormed into the clubhouse lead with a blistering opening 63 in the MAN NÖ Open at GC Adamstal in Ramsau, Austria.

The 29 year old went out in level par 36 before racing home in a staggering 27, which included an eagle two when he holed his nine iron approach to the 14th, to set the pace at seven under par before play was suspended for the day after heavy rain flooded the Adamstal course.

Karjalainen has won two Challenge Tour titles, having captured the 2005 Thomas Björn Open presented by Mulidata and the 2006 Telenet Trophy, and graduated to The European Tour at the end of the 2005 season but has struggled to rekindle that form in the current campaign with just one top ten early in the year and he currently lies in 113th place on the Rankings.

But his 63 – the lowest Challenge Tour round of his career – could put him back on the right track as he leads Switzerland’s Andre Bossert by two strokes with the English trio of Jamie Little, Ally Mellor and Neil Walker and Swede Klas Eriksson a shot further back after rounds of four under par 66.

“It was a little wet but somehow I managed to get round and I didn’t feel I had to fight for it at all,” said Karjalainen. “Apart from the eagle on the 14th, and a good 25 foot birdie putt on the 13th, all the birdies were from close range.”

Of his season so far, Karjalainen said: “The numbers don’t tell the whole story as my scoring average is pretty good but I am just not making enough birdies but today I made a whole bunch. Hopefully this will be the story for the rest of the season. There is plenty of golf to go and the goal is to get into the top 20 to get a card for The European Tour and it only takes a couple of good weeks. Every week someone seems to go crazy and hopefully this is my week.”

Austrian Roland Steiner thrilled the fans with a three under par 67 in his bid to secure a home victory. Steiner finished the day in a strong position despite a double bogey on the 13th spoiling the card. His score was also matched by, among others, compatriot Christoph Pfau in the group sharing seventh place.

The weather caused disruptions through the day, initially with a fog delay and subsequently torrential rain and when play was finally suspended for day, 63 players were left to complete their opening rounds. They will resume at 7.15am with the start of the second round delayed by one hour and 15 minutes and now scheduled to get underway at 7.45 am.

Among those unable to finish was Austria’s favourite golfing son, Markus Brier, whose success in his home country includes two Challenge Tour victories and one European Tour triumph. Indeed, his victory in the 2006 BA-CA Golf Open, presented by Telekom Austria, made history as the first Austrian success on The European Tour. Brier was lying at four under par with three holes to play.

**truebluefan** · 07-19-2008, 08:08 AM

Andre Bossert rekindled memories of his European Tour triumph as he moved into the halfway lead of the MAN NÖ Open in Austria.

Bossert, born in Switzerland but now living in South Africa, fired a second successive five under par 65 to take the clubhouse lead on ten under par at GC Adamstal, Ramsau, two clear of the defending champion, Anders Schmidt Hansen of Denmark, and England’s Jamie Little.

Bossert tasted victory on The European Tour 13 years ago when he won the 1995 Air France Cannes Open and immediately drew comparisons between Royal Mougins and GC Adamstal which he hopes will give him the edge over the weekend.

“The course is very similar to Cannes where I won, very up and down and you need to play your short irons well,” explained the 45 year old. “That suits me so hopefully I can pull through.”

Bossert stuck the ball beautifully over the front nine with little reward, making only one birdie when he two putted the par five third after an aggressive approach over the corner which he described as his shot of the day. It was not until be turned for home that the putter warmed up and birdies at the tenth, 11th and 12th got his round going. A fifth birdie of the day followed on the 14th as he surged into the lead.

Languishing in 193rd place on the Challenge Tour Rankings, Bossert knows he needs a strong finish to the season but having recovered from a bout of chicken pox which laid him low earlier in the season, the former European Tour Champion feels he is peaking at the right time.

“My game started turning around last week but here it is better than I expected,” he said. “It is a case of being patient and hopefully having a good weekend and then I am playing in Russia next week, so it will be good to go there with some confidence. I still love playing and hopefully I can pull through.”

Hansen, who captured the title a year ago with a three victory over England’s Zane Scotland, once again showed his liking for the GC Adamstal course as he too shot a five under 65, racing out of the blocks with a four under front nine of 32 and coming home in 33.

The home fans will also have plenty to cheer about over the weekend with Markus Brier well placed to mount a challenge in his bid to add to his previous two Challenge Tour titles and one European Tour title in his home country. Brier shot a two under par 68 to move to seven under par but even Austria’s favourite golfing son was upstaged by compatriot Thomas Feyrsinger, who shot a seven under par 63 to join Brier in share of fourth on seven under alongside Finn Jonas Granberg.

After the delays on the first day, four groups were unable to complete their second rounds before darkness prompted the suspension to play. They will complete their second rounds at 7.15am on Saturday with the third round due to start at 9.15am.

**truebluefan** · 07-20-2008, 08:19 PM

Austria’s Markus Brier put himself in the frame for a fifth victory on home soil by moving into a three-way tie for the lead with Swede Klas Eriksson and Switzerland’s André Bossert in the MAN NÖ Open.

Brier has already won two Challenge Tour titles in Austria as well as one European Tour title, when in 2006 he became the first Austrian champion on The European Tour, in addition to winning the MAN NÖ Open in 2005 when it was part of the Alps Tour, so has plenty of experience as he chases another home title at GC Adamstal, Ramsau.

Brier picked up four birdies, three on the par fives, in a round of four under par 66 to move to 11 under par and into a share of the lead with Eriksson, who carded a seven under 63, and the overnight leader Bossert, who returned a 69.

But all eyes will be on the Brier, who also won the Volvo China Open on The European Tour International Schedule in 2007.

“I look on it as having home advantage, not added pressure of playing in Austria,” said Brier. “I know the course well and enjoy playing in front of so many friends and family. I feel relaxed and comfortable but I always want to win.”

Bossert was playing in the group behind and while all the attention was understandably on Brier, Bossert is relishing the final day challenge.

Having started out with a two stroke lead, Bossert struggled with his distance control initially, repeatedly hitting his approaches ten metres long and then, in countering that, coming up short. But after back to back bogeys on the 13th and 14th, found his range with a terrific three wood into the par five 15th green to set up an eagle three and a share of the lead.

“The three wood on the 15th was the shot of the tournament for me and, while it was an up and down day, I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said Bossert, also a European Tour winner.

Eriksson produced the round of the day however, picking up seven birdies including five coming home, for a round of 63 to also lie on 11 under par 199.

Two top fives this year have put the Swede in 23rd place on the Rankings and in a strong position to mount a challenge for a place in the top 20 and a subsequent return to The European Tour and he too has high hopes for the final day showdown.

**truebluefan** · 07-20-2008, 08:20 PM

Switzerland’s André Bossert denied Markus Brier a home victory in the MAN NÖ Open when he defeated the Austrian at the first extra-hole of a sudden-death play-off.

Brier, chasing a fifth title in his native Austria, bravely birdied the last to match Bossert’s round of 66 as the pair finished locked together on 15 under par 265 but Bossert, who had edged ahead in the thrilling final day contest with a birdie of his own on the 17th hole at GC Adamstal, Ramsau, was not to be denied.

A par three on the first play-off hole to Brier’s five gave the 44 year old his first Tour title since winning the 1995 Air France Cannes Open on The European Tour International Schedule. The €22,400 lifted him a 130 places on the Challenge Tour Rankings to 33rd and a place within the top 20, and subsequently a card for The European Tour, is now within reach.

“It is great to get the feeling on winning again,” said Bossert. “It has been a while but it is never too late. Markus and Klas made it tough for me but I have put a lot of hard work into this and the feeling is tremendous.”

With a terrible forecast of storms throughout the afternoon, players were sent out early to try to avoid the predicted inclement weather. Bossert, Brier and Eriksson made up the final grouping and there was little to separate the three over a thrilling final round.

The tension reached a dramatic climax over the last three holes as Brier sensationally holed what looked like an impossible a bunker shot on the 16th to draw level with Bossert as Eriksson bogeyed and fell one behind. Bossert, who had held the edge after three birdies on the front nine, responded by holing from eight feet on the 17th to take a one stroke lead over both his playing partners, Eriksson having also birdied the 17th, up the final hole.

Bossert made par, Eriksson’s birdie putt to tie slipped by but Brier, from 15 feet, stroked home a birdie putt to take the contest into extra holes. But on returning to the par three, Brier found trouble in the bunker and Bossert comfortably two putted for victory.

As for his chances of regaining his European Tour status now, Bossert said: “This victory makes me think differently now and that is a goal, but I need to take it step by step. I am just happy to be playing well again.”

For Brier, his bid to win a fifth title in front of his friends and family, following two previous Challenge Tour successes, one European Tour triumph and victory in the 2005 MAN NÖ Open when on the Alps Tour, fell just short.

Eriksson also challenged for the title down the stretch but the bogey four on the 16th ultimately proved costly as he fell one shy with a final round of 67 and 14 under par total of 266. His consolation was a climb up the Rankings into 14th place from 23rd, with the top 20 at the end of the season securing a European Tour card.