Timon Baltl wins Gösser Open with course record
18 May, 2019 – Maria Lankowitz (Aut) – With four Austrian players in the top ten positions, home crowd had all the reasons to flock to Golfclub Erzherzog Johann to attend the final day of the 27th edition of Gösser Open. And they certainly weren’t disappointed, as the youngest and most promising of their local heroes, Timon Baltl, went around the 18 holes with an exciting course-record 62, 10 under par, and could finally grab the coveted trophy – and the 6,162 Euros cheque – with a three-strokes advantage over his nearest contender, experienced Frenchman Xavier Poncelet.
« It was such an amazing experience to get first win on Alps Tour at home – said Baltl, 24, who is on his third season on our satellite circuit – probably I couldn’t choose a better tournament to win ! It’s really unbelievable for me, having my dad on the bag (Max Baltl, a pro himself) and my mom watching makes this feel even better». About his 62 (-10) on the last round – with eagle on the start hole and then 9 birdies and one bogey – Timon explained : « It was a really really good round, I’ve almost made every putt, it was crazy ! Everything was falling into the right places. I was minus 3 after 2, I was hoping for such a start then I knew I could have a chance if I just could keep it going ; I’ve tryed not being distracted by the situation and the crowd, of course I was really nervous since the second hole, but somehow I kept my composure and kept playing shot by shot. The bogey I had on the 16 was certainly a bit of lack of concentration, I don’t like the tee shot on that hole, I’ve sliced the driver into the water hazard and went for the safer solution – I’ve might have chipped out on the fairway and go from there to the green and try to save a par, but I preferred to go back and drop ». It was a wise choice in the end, since the advantage he had from the other players was big enough and his confidence was strong : « I haven’t counted how many putts I’ve hit in all, but in the back 9 they were 11 I think ! ».
It was a great tournament also for Xavier Poncelet, 33, who confirmed his good and consistent form improving round after round (70-66-64, -16) and finishing with a bogey-free -8 which moved up his ranking to a solo second place.
In third position at -15, another Austrian player, Clemens Prader, 40, tied with young French amateur Jeong Weon Ko, 21, who has been showing his talent with two places in the top 20 in the two previous tournaments he played : « I’m suprised by the strong level of the fields on the Alps Tour – he said – I realized that I really have to score low if I want to be in contention ! ». He certainly shows a high rate of maturity in his game, with just one bogey in three rounds (the first day), one eagle and 14 birdies – one of our rising stars to watch !
The 8th tournament on the 2019 Alps Tour season was promoted by the Murhof Gruppe (www.murhofgruppe.at) and could count on the support of partners such as Gösser Beer, Lipizzaner Heimat, Austrian Golf Federation (www.golf.at), the city of Maria Lankowitz (Wallfahrtsort Freizeitparadies) and Steiermärkische Sparkasse, and as media partners Gepa Pictures, Antenne Steiermark, Kleine Zeitung.
The Alps Tour schedule resumes in just four days in Italy when the 6th edition of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON will take place at La Pinetina Golf Club, near Como, with a prize fund of 40,000 euros.
Final round results: click here
Order of Merit : click here
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