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European Tour: Porsche European Open Preview

By Matt Coles

HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 29: Richard McEvoy of England poses with the trophy after his victory on the 18th hole during day four of the Porsche European Open at Green Eagle Golf Course on July 29, 2018 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 29: Richard McEvoy of England poses with the trophy after his victory on the 18th hole during day four of the Porsche European Open at Green Eagle Golf Course on July 29, 2018 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /
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After a magnificent end to the Omega European Masters in Switzerland on Sunday evening, the European Tour rolls on to Germany, for the Porsche European Open.

The Porsche European will be played at the Green Eagle Golf Club, just outside Hamburg. The venue will host the event for the third straight season, and it will be the fifth in a row that has been held in Germany since it returned to the European Tour calendar after a five-year absence.

The European Open, which has had many names due to sponsorship agreements, has been held majorly at Walton Heath, Sunningdale, and the K Club, with the former hosting the very first event back in 1978.

This year, the European Open is held at Green Eagle for the third time, on what is the third-longest course on the European Tour calendar, only behind the Gary Player Country Club and Jumeirah Golf Estates, the final two events of the season.

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The 18-hole, par-72 course measures a whopping 7,544 yards in total, with a rather unusual split between nines. The front nine measures just 3,343, with a par of 34, while the par-38 back nine measures at over 4,200 yards, including four par-5s.

The par-5 16th hole is the longest on the European Tour, standing at 663 yards, while the 9th at Green Eagle is the second-longest, at 647 yards.

The man who conquered the course last year, Richard McEvoy, did so to win his maiden European Tour event, and he will be aiming to become only the third man to win back-to-back European Opens this week.

If he was to do so, he would follow in the footsteps of Lee Westwood (1999, 2000) and Per-Ulrik Johansson (1996, 1997). Meanwhile, he would also join Gordon Brand Jr. and Bernhard Langer as the other two-time winners of the event.

Plenty of other big names have tasted success in this tournament. Bobby Wadkins won the inaugural episode back in 1978, while Sandy Lyle, Tom Kine, and Greg Norman all succeeded in its first decade.

The likes of Nick Faldo (1992), Darren Clarke (2001), Retief Goosen (2004) and Colin Montgomerie (2007) have also lifted the trophy, with Monty’s victory being his 31st and the final one on the European Tour.

Last year’s champ will play the first two rounds at Green Eagle this week in arguably the biggest group, playing alongside 2018 Masters Champion Patrick Reed, and 13-time European Tour winner Paul Casey.

World No.9 Xander Schauffele is also in this week’s field. He will start his week alongside Scottish Open champion Bernd Wiesberger and Czech Masters winner Thomas Pieters.

Fellow American Matt Kuchar will make a return to Germany for the first time in a decade come Thursday. He will play alongside home favourite Max Schmitt and Danish star Lucas Bjerregard.

Two of the men from last week’s five-strong playoff at the European Masters will look to continue their good form this week. Kalle Samooja and Lorenzo Gagli will be looking to go one better at Green Eagle this week.

Meanwhile, 2017 champ Jordan Smith will play alongside three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and Spain’s Adri Arnaus.

The action gets underway on Thursday morning at 07:30 local time (UTC+2), as the first six of 156 entrants get going. Jacques Kruyswijk, Nicola Hojgaard and amateur Marc Hammer tee off from the 1st, while the 10th will see Simon Forsstrom, Ben Stow and David Borda get their weeks started.

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Selected Tee Times (* = 10th tee start):

  • 08:00 & 13:00*: Thomas Pieters (BEL), Xander Schauffele (USA), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
  • 08:10* & 13:10: Paul Waring (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Jorge Campillo (ESP)
  • 12:50 & 07:50*: Padraig Harrington (IRL, Jordan Smith (ENG), Adri Arnaus (ESP)
  • 13:00 & 08:00*: Richard McEvoy (ENG), Patrick Reed (USA), Paul Casey (ENG)
  • 13:10 & 08:10*: Max Schmitt (GER), Lucas Bjerregard (DEN), Matt Kuchar (USA)
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