Tight battle for favouritism in Cologne
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship | Preview | 10 Sep 2009
The European Tour moves to Cologne in Germany for this week’s Mercedes-Benz Championship. The tournament became the Mercedes Benz Championship in 2007 after being known for many years was either the Linde or Mercedes German Masters, Bernhard Langer’s family having been the tournament promoters during much of that time.
Played over the Jack Nicklaus designed Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof since two years after the course’s opening in 1996, the event will this year be missing the defending champion, Robert Karlsson. Karlsson has been out of tournament golf with an eye problem since the European Open.
Favouritism in the event therefore might go to Henrik Stenson although Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen both could provide cases to be considered the player most likely.
Stenson was 6th at his last start at the PGA Championship and at number 6 is the leading world ranked player in the field.
Westwood is the world ranked number 10 and has played this event well on occasions. He is in a rich vein of form in recent months and another good week is all but assured.
Soren Hansen won this event in 2007 and with top tens this season at the US Open and Open Championships his game is at an even higher level than it was when winning two years ago.
Give the restricted numbers in this field (78) the Australasian contingent is not strong numerically but an interesting one none the same. Rod Pampling has slipped to number 93 in the world as a result of a less than impressive season in the US this year but he did win a European Tour event in Melbourne late last year and is in this week’s field courtesy of that win.
Michael Campbell finished 3rd in this event last year just before his massive slump began. Last week he made the weekend for only the second time in his last eighteen starts and so while he is unlikely to feature it might be the sort of course that inspires a continuation of the improvement shown last week in Switzerland.
Scott Strange and Mark Brown are the two others form down-under with a start in the event.
