Marc Warren celebrates
Marc Warren celebrates

Austrian Open golf report: Ben Coley pre-tournament tip Marc Warren wins at 150/1


Marc Warren - one of our Ben Coley's pre-tournament outright fancies at 150/1 - won the Austrian Open by a single shot.

The Scot held a share of the lead heading into the final day after rounds of 66, 69 and 70 and another Sunday 70 was enough to see him claim a one-shot victory at -13 from German Marcel Schneider.

Ben's pre-tournament preview featured four each-way tips in the win market and a R1 selection at 60/1, with Warren picked out at 150s on account of some encouraging evidence of late.

He wrote: "At his best, Warren is right up there on the heels of the standout players in the field, and while that form is a little while ago, there have actually been some positives since the back-end of last season."

The latest huge winner enhances what has already been a superb year for our flagship golf expert, following on from 250/1 winner Sami Valimaki, 50/1 winner Cameron Smith, 33/1 winner Sungjae Im and Dustin Jonson who took the Travelers Championship a fortnight ago having been put up at 30/1.

Leaderboard

-13 Warren

-12 Schneider

-11 Besseling

-10 Howie, Rodriguez, Syme, Van Driel

Day four report

Scotland's Marc Warren registered his first European Tour victory since 2014 as he triumphed at the Austrian Open on Sunday.

Warren, having started the day with a share of the lead alongside one German in Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, finished a shot clear of another, Marcel Schneider, on 13 under par at the Diamond Country Club near Vienna.

The lead was being shared by Warren and Spain's Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez before the former posted his sixth birdie of the day on the 17th.

After Garcia Rodriguez, then a shot behind, subsequently hit his tee shot into the water on the 18th, a par for Warren secured him his fourth European Tour title.

Warren said on europeantour.com: "2014 (at the Made In Denmark event) was the last time I've won.

"What's happened on the golf course in the years since then, I've played very poorly. The break has been unfortunate for everyone but it came at a good time for me, spending some time at home and trying to get my game ready to play golf."

He added: "Going from a few hours ago I didn't have full status, now to be in a winner's category and plan the year a little bit is good. I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, trying to hit one shape all the time and when I do play try and do that and try not to mess about too much."

The tournament was the first European Tour event since the sporting shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Its results count toward both the Race to Dubai and the Challenge Tour's Road to Mallorca.


Day three report

Marc Warren - tipped on these pages at 150/1 prior to the tournament - is tied for the lead entering the final round of the Austrian Open.

The Scot fired a two-under par round of 70 on a wet and difficult day at Diamond Country Club, which was enough to move onto 11-under and secure a place in the final group on Sunday.

There he'll be joined by Challenge Tour player Nicolai von Dellingshausen, and Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, who is a shot behind that duo and part of a three-way tie for third.

Connor Syme sits alongside Garcia Rodriguez and Darius Van Driel, scrambled pars at the final two holes enough to card an impressive, bogey-free round of 69 at the course where he finished second two years ago.

Joost Luiten's closing birdie saw him edge to within two as he seeks to win the event for a second time, having yet to finish worse than seventh at this course.

Warren bogeyed the straightforward first hole but birdies at the third, fourth and sixth had him right on the heels of the leaders.

As he dropped a shot at the difficult ninth, things turned ugly for playing partner Miguel Angel Jimenez, who doubled that hole and the 10th in a round of 77 which saw him tumble from first to 12th.

Warren meanwhile picked up a shot at the 15th, salvaged pars at holes 16 and 17 after wayward approaches, and then saw his birdie putt at the final hole just stay above ground - moments after Luiten's had found the cup.

Once ranked 48th in the world but now way down at 1258th, the veteran Scot has struggled in recent seasons but now heads into the final round with a chance of ending a six-year title drought - and landing our golf expert Ben Coley a 150/1 winner to go with the 250/1 success of Sami Valikamki in the penultimate European Tour event prior to lockdown.

"I know what to expect," said Warren. "Some guys haven’t won before, they might not know what to expect. I’m pretty comfortable with the situation I’m in. Hopefully a good front nine tomorrow and I’ll be in with a chance to win."

Day two report

Miguel Angel Jimenez has his sights set on smashing his own record this weekend, having taken the lead after two rounds of the Austrian Open.

Now 56, it’s seven years since the Spaniard became the oldest winner in European Tour history, and six since he first broke that record himself with victory in his national open.

Winless at this level since, were he to go on and triumph in the first event since coronavirus forced the suspension of the circuit, he would be setting a new benchmark which may never be broken in a sport increasingly dominated by those in their twenties.

Several such players are in pursuit, but Jimenez is the man to catch on 11-under after a brilliant round of 65 on Friday, one which promised to be better still until he dropped shots at 16 and 17, only to sign off with a birdie to hold onto a slender advantage.

Germany’s Nicolai von Dellinghausen dropped a shot on the 18th when in outright second to slip into a five-way tie on nine-under - including tournament favourite Joost Luiten and our 150/1 tip Marc Warren.

Luiten had to battle hard to recover from a triple-bogey seven at the par-four seventh hole, taking stock around the turn before reeling off three straight birdies from the 12th to 14th to sign for a two-under round of 70.

Warren’s Scottish compatriot Connor Syme had vaulted up the leaderboard early as he seeks to better his runner-up finish here in 2018, but three bogeys approaching the turn halted his progress. Syme responded nicely coming home and will begin round three just four shots back of the leader, a man some 32 years his senior.

Day one report

Joost Luiten set the early pace at the Austrian Open in Atzenbrugg on what was the first day of European Tour action in four months.

The event at Diamond Country Club, which is also part of the Challenge Tour schedule, is being played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But that did not seem to affect Luiten, who made eight birdies and dropped just one shot to shoot a seven-under par 65 and end the day a stroke clear of Scottish duo Marc Warren and Craig Howie.

Five of the Dutchman's birdies came in his first seven holes, before he made bogey at the 10th, picked up a shot at the par-five 15th and finished with back-to-back birdies.

Scotland Connor Syme is also well placed on five-under, where he sits alongside Sweden's Philip Eriksson, Dane Nicolai Højgaard and Lorenzo Scalise of Italy.

Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez is a shot further back.


Responsible gambling

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.

Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.