Joel Stalte at Euram Bank. Pic: Getty Images/ European Tour
Leaderboard – Euram Bank Open, Austria
With his fiancée, Flora on the bag as is caddie, Joël Stalter overcame a four-shot deficit to win his first European Tour title at the Euram Bank Open, finishing two strokes ahead of Richard Mansell amongst the Austrian Alps.
The Frenchman started the day chasing 54-hole leader Robin Sciot-Siegrist but moved ahead after a birdie on the tenth, his second of the day, after his compatriot carded a four over par front nine at Golf Club Adamstal
A bogey on the 14th hole brought him level with Englishman Mansell, who was playing in the final group, but he responded immediately with a birdie on the 15th and a nervous wait followed as he parred his final three holes, setting the clubhouse target at 14 under par.
Mansell, making just his second European Tour start after debuting at last week’s Austrian Open, finished his round one over par after a bogey on the 16th hole, giving Stalter his first European Tour victory after battling teeming rain.
The victory was even sweeter for Stalter, as he shared his success with his fiancée Flora, his caddie for the week.
Sciot-Siegrist finished in third place alongside Sweden’s Christofer Blomstrand and Alexander Knappe of Germany, while another Frenchman, Julien Brun, shared sixth place with Garrick Higgo of South Africa and Joost Luiten of the Netherlands.
The European Tour moves to Close House, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the North East of England, next week for the Betfred British Masters, the first tournament of the new six-event UK Swing as part of the reshaped 2020 Race to Dubai.
Joël Stalter said, “Winning here today, I can’t really put it into words. I have been in this situation a few times and was never able to really push through. My girlfriend was on the bag this week. She has done an incredible job, she kept me going. She’s definitely part of my success today.
“It was a horrible day in terms of the conditions. It was tough for everyone. The course played probably 1000 yards longer, but my girlfriend had her smile on and just kept me going. We just had fun. I was playing really well and I just really enjoyed it, even though it was a tough day.
“I didn’t know I was leading until the 13th hole. Then I took my chance and really pushed through. I feel like today is a tribute to the last two years of getting slapped in the face a lot. I just kept pushing and believing.
“I felt nervous (over the last two holes) but I just tried to enjoy it as much as I could. It’s what we train for. All the tough days, this is what makes up for it. I just tried to stay in my game and do my best. Obviously it worked out well.”
Round Three: Sciot-Siegrist takes lead after three days
Robin Sciot-Siegrist will take a commanding three-stroke lead into the final round of the Euram Bank Open after carding a sublime bogey-free nine under par round of 61 at Golf Club Adamstal.
The Frenchman started the third round three strokes behind overnight leader Joost Luiten and made a steady start to the day with birdies on the third and fifth holes before play was suspended for nearly two hours due to lightning in the area.
After the restart, the 26-year-old stormed out of the blocks with six birdies in a row from the eighth hole, capping off a fantastic display with his ninth gain of the day on the 16th.
Sciot-Siegrist is making just his 12th European Tour start this week after securing his playing rights at Qualifying School last November. His best result to date came at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in February, where he finished third.
Englishman Richard Mansell is in second place on 13 under par after a six under round of 64, which included seven birdies, three bogeys and an eagle. He is one stroke ahead of Christofer Blomstrand of Sweden and Frenchman Joël Stalter.
One stroke further back are Julien Brun of France, Sweden’s Philip Eriksson, Daniel Gavins of England and Germany’s Alexander Knappe on 11 under par.
Round 2 – Luiten moves to the top at halfway mark at Euram Bank Open in Austria
Joost Luiten opened up a two shot lead at after the second round at the Euram Bank Open. The Dutchman carded a seven under par round of 63 – adding to his five under par first round – to get to 12 under and was two strokes ahead of Sweden’s Philip Eriksson and Frenchman Joël Stalter at Golf Club Adamstal.
The 34-year-old also led last week’s Austrian Open after the first round, eventually finishing in a share of 18th place.
Luiten, a six-time European Tour winner, started the day with two birdies and an eagle on his first five holes and made another gain on the ninth, going out in just 31 strokes. Three birdies followed on the back nine before he signed for a 63 after a bogey on the last.
Eriksson who, like Luiten, made a strong start last week at Diamond Country Club, carded a four under par 66 to join Stalter in second place after the 28-year-old carded his second consecutive round of 65.
Julien Brun, making his first appearance since the Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour in October, carded a six under 64, moving to fourth place on nine under.
In fifth place are Sweden’s Christofer Blomstrand, American John Catlin, first-round leader Deyen Lawson of Australia and Scotland’s Chris Robb on eight under par.
Spaniard Scott Fernandez carded the lowest round of the day, an eight under 62, to join seven others in a share of ninth place.
Luiten said,“You never want to finish with a bogey. I missed the green, hit a decent chip and missed a short putt from about eight feet. All in all it was a good day and I don’t want to ruin it just because of the bogey on the last. I need to take the positives into the weekend.
“There were 17 great holes really, I haven’t been in a lot of trouble or missed a lot of greens, even though it was tricky out there with the wind picking up a bit and the rain coming in. I’m really happy with seven under.
“It was more difficult than yesterday, because of the wind. It’s hard to judge where it comes from up in the mountain. In the middle of the round it really picked up and when the rain came in it died down a little again. It was a tough day.”
Round 1 – Lawson, Matus share lead
Deyen Lawson and Stanislav Matus share the first round lead at the Euram Bank Open after carding seven under par rounds of 63 at Golf Club Adamstal.
Australian Lawson set the early clubhouse target after a round which included nine birdies, five of those consecutively from the 12th hole. Two early birdies were cancelled out by bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes, but a birdie on the ninth start a run of seven gains in eight holes.
Matus, of the Czech Republic, joined Lawson in a share of the lead after finishing his round in the evening, going bogey-free in the Austrian Alps.
The pair are one stroke ahead of Sweden’s Philip Eriksson, who also started strongly at last week’s Austrian Open, Oliver Lindell of Finland and Englishman Jordan Wrisdale on six under par. Both Eriksson and Wrisdale were also bogey-free, while Lindell carded eight birdies.
Nine players share sixth place on five under par, including Matus’ compatriot Ondrej Lieser, who made a hole-in-one on the 12th. A further nine players share 15th on four under par, rounding out a congested top 20.
