Bernd ready to drop the hammer in China
2014-10-22 22:09:17
Bernd Ritthammer arrives at the Foshan Open fresh off his third top three finish of the season, a result that has the German talking up his chances of a first European Challenge Tour title this week.
Currently in the midst of his fifth year on the second tier, in which time he has recorded a runner-up finish at last season’s Fred Olsen Challenge de España, the Gunzenhausen resident believes the time is now right for him to make the step up to tournament winner.
His level par opening round last week in Chongqing was a solid start in trying conditions, but as the weather cleared Ritthammer hit top gear, carding rounds of 66 and 67 over the weekend to finish in a tie for third alongside Tim Sluiter and the leading Chinese player, Hu Mu, on 11 under par.
That eventually saw him finish four shots off Johan Edfors’ winning total, but it was an encouraging display for the 27 year old, who has never finished higher than 34th on the Rankings, a feat he managed back in 2011.
With just three events left this season it does not afford much time to those players outside the top 15 to play their way in. However with a US$3,500,000 prize fund up for grabs this week, every shot matters that little bit more, a fact that is not wasted on Ritthammer.
“My birdie on the last in Chongqing was very important money wise for me, and I was happy with how I played in the final round there,” said the former Pro Golf Tour graduate. “I started solid and only hit a couple of bad shots on the back nine, but didn’t really get in any trouble. The day before was good too, it was just my first round last week that wasn’t quite good enough to be further up.
“I hope it is not too late to have started playing better as I still need a lot of money to make it into the top 15, but it feels like I am right where I need to be, as my game is feeling good. I know the three courses to come too, and I like all of them.
“I need a win really, a second place might be nice, but I almost certainly need a win, and I am hoping to be able to do it.
“I’m into (the Grand Final in ) Dubai now though, which is great as it was important for me to start well, as we are out in Asia now for these final four weeks and to get off to such a good start was great. Now I just want to push on, and you have that feeling each week that ‘I want to win now, I want to win now’ so it was a very important week.
“The course in Foshan is longer than last week, and it is very wide, but the greens are very good. The hotel is very good too, and we know a great place to go out for dinner, a small restaurant, so the whole week should be great.
“Over the next three weeks it should be perfect weather-wise, and I feel very confident. It is about time now to get that win, as I’ve been out here long enough and I have enough experience. I’ve been up there a couple of times so just that win is missing, but I have got a good feeling for the weeks ahead.”
Ritthammer is the only German set to tee it up in Foshan but he is joined by a whole host of top talent, including Byeong-hun An, who is the highest ranked player in the field.
The Korean will hope to bounce back from a missed cut in trying conditions last week, and he will no doubt remain confident of doing just that at an event where he finished in a tie for 25th a year ago.
Edfors will also be in the field, as he looks to build on a victory that saw him jump to 13th on the Rankings, and the Swede will be alongside seven other players who currently reside in the top 15.
There will also be 63 home grown heroes this week looking to make an impact, especially after the success of Hu last week in Chongqing, who at one point held the lead on Sunday after six birdies in a row on the back nine.
