I got underway at the Swiss International Championship in very wet conditions at the Golf Gerre Losone with the clear goal of defending my title from last year. So wet, that the first round had to be cancelled with the decision being made to have a cut after only 18 holes. With heightened pressure to perform on the first 18, my first tee shot on the 10th took an unlucky bounce off of a rock and ended dead behind a tree, resulting in an opening double-bogey. I rallied to a one-over 72 to make the cut. Over the next two rounds I struggled a little with my Driver off the tee with the treacherous rough and with my putter. I shot 73, 70 over the final two rounds to finish in a tie for 20th. I was happy to congratulate my teammate Cedric Gugler on the win though, thus keeping the trophy in GCCZ hands!
Next on the schedule was the Swiss Interclub Championships at the Golf Club Heidental. We were welcomed with wonderful weather and there was a great team spirit. In this tournament too, we came with the intention of defending our title. Cedric and myself played the foursomes together and posted the lowest score of the day of 67. Lying a couple of shots back after the first day, we knew what we had to do to repeat last year's comeback. Going off first, I posted a 7-under 65 with a lost ball and a three putt. Nevertheless, I was later told by the captain that the good start was important, as it relieved my teammates of some of the pressure. Cedi came in with a new course record of 63 and Eric, Moritz, Niclas and Jonas all came in with solid scores, enough for us to comfortably defend our title. We'll keep the run going next year in Breitenloo!
After the Interclub, a period of intense preparation for my second European Tour Event of my career at the Omega European Masters followed. My fellow Swiss amateur participants and coach took a two-day camp to Crans the week prior, to fully prepare our course strategies so that we could embrace the learning experience of playing with the world's best during the week of the tournament. We set ourselves the scoring goal of 138 over the first two days, based off previous cut numbers. I started +1 through 6 holes having had some good birdie looks, before hitting the par 4 7th hole in one and then sinking the eagle putt! I carried the momentum until the end and finished at 68 or -2. The next day I started with a double bogey, but stuck to my game plan and finished strong with three birdies over the last four holes to make the cut! I didn't play the golf I wanted to on the weekend with colder weather and tougher pins but I finished as the best Swiss player and showed myself that I have the game to play all four rounds at a European Tour event of this calibre. An amazing experience once again, for which I would like to thank my dad as a caddy on the bag, my family for the support, Swiss Golf for the opportunity and all the spectators for the support! Furthermore, my participation at this event was secured by my sponsors' generosity, thank you!
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