Nicola Gerhardsen, a 22-year-old amateur from Zurich, is among the leaders at the Omega European Masters in Crans-Montana with a round of five strokes under par.
05.09.2024, 16:03
05.09.2024, 16:41
SDA
Gerhardsen played in Crans for the first time at the age of 16. In all the five years before, however, he had never managed such a super round. He started with a bogey (1 over par), then strung together seven birdies (1 under par) before giving up first place again due to a second bogey. Did he dream or hope for such a start? Gerhardsen: "Hoped for, of course - dreamed of, too. You often see things like that in your head. You visualize such rounds."
Gerhardsen is playing his last tournament as an amateur at the Omega European Masters. He will switch to the pros next week. This means that if he manages three more rounds like he did on Thursday, and in the best-case scenario even wins the tournament like Shane Lowry did 15 years ago at the Irish Open, he will not receive a single franc of the winner's prize money of 553,500 dollars. Amateurs get the main sponsor's watch, but no prize money. Gerhardsen's prize money would go to the next player in the ranking.
No prize money for amateurs
This is not annoying for Gerhardsen. If he had switched to the pros before the tournament, he would not have been able to take part. He received the starting right for the best Swiss amateur golfer. With the pros, his results would not (yet) have been enough to qualify.
Accordingly, the amateur has to prove himself on Friday. Gerhardsen: "Thursday's round gives me confidence. I'll also take it shot by shot on the second day and try to stay calm."
Girrbach's feeling
In the long term, the young golfer from Zurich wants to be a professional from next week, where Joel Girrbach (30) from Thurgau already is. However, the number 1 Swiss golfer did not fare so well on the first day. He will have to improve on Friday to make the cut. In recent years, he has always needed a score under par in Crans in order to still be in contention at the weekend and get into the prize money. Girrbach remained one stroke over par in the first round.
"Nevertheless, I feel like I've made a step forward compared to the last few weeks," said Girrbach. Since his successful performance at the Olympic Games, he has missed the cut at three tournaments. He started the season brilliantly at the beginning of the year with two top-10 and three further top-20 finishes. Since then, however, he has missed the cut in six of nine tournaments. He doesn't know why things are no longer going well for him. "Sometimes you play well and don't know why - and sometimes you play badly and don't know why."
However, Girrbach's situation is not dramatic. As number 86 in the annual rankings on the European Tour, he is well on the way to retaining his tour card for next season. "That's the main goal. Many players who play on the tour for the first time lose their right to compete straight away. If I manage to get the tour card for 2025 again, then things will have gone well for me."
And perhaps things will also go well for Girrbach this week in Crans-Montana. "I just have to make better use of the opportunities that present themselves."
