Isle of Man to Switzerland: Obscure golf nations highest OWGR part II
Switzerland
No. 920 Benjamin Rusch is the top-ranked golfer from Switzerland, but you can call him Beni. The Scandinavian’s top golf talent is a 30-year-old whose top professional achievements are a trio of wins on the Pro Golf Tour in Europe.
Rusch was in no huge rush to pick up the game as a youngster. It wasn’t until age 12 when he first picked up a club at his home course, GC Lipperswil.
He was somewhat of a natural, as he progressed to the point of attracting attention from American colleges. He landed with the University of Virginia where he studied foreign affairs.
Rusch set the program’s low 18-hole score when he fired a 7-under 65 as a freshman in the second round of the 2011 Cavalier Classic. That same school year, he helped Switzerland finish 11th at the World Amateur Team Championships.
After another stellar sophomore campaign where he earned all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, he redshirted in what would have been his junior year. The NCAA ruled he had just three years of eligibility, so he waited until his senior year to resume play.
After his impressive career at UVA, Rusch immediately turned pro.
To backtrack a bit, he had been playing in OWGR-counting events since 2008.
His first foray in this world didn’t go so well. Shortly before his 19th birthday, Rusch was disqualified from the Credit Suisse Challenge in a Challenge Tour event in his home country. He fired a 73 in round one. I couldn’t find a reason for the DQ.
A year later, Rusch got a crack at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland in 2009. In his first Euro Tour event, he missed the cut.
Rusch MC’d two more times in the Credit Suisse Challenge before finally eeking out his first made cut with a 56th in 2012. He later tacked on a T76 at the European Masters.
Rusch made a cut on the Challenge Tour and European Tour in 2014 and won his first pro event in 2015 at the Castanea Resort Pro Golf Tour Championship. It was a five-shot victory and his fourth top-12 in a row on that tour.
Our pal Beni earned his Challenge Tour card in 2016. He made four of his first five cuts but couldn’t do better than T-17 all year. Rusch regained status in 2017 but continued to struggle.
Back to the PGT it was in 2018. That seems to be the right level for Rusch, who had a win, a second and a third that year.
Rusch reached his peak in the OWGR in 2019 by climbing to No. 634. He made four of six cuts on the Challenge Tour while putting forth another solid season on the PGT.
That’s where he remains when golf resumes. In four starts on the PGT in 2020, Rusch has a pair of made cuts including a T-6 at the Open Royal Golf Anfa Mohammedia.
How much longer will he grind it out? Can Rusch reach the mountaintop of finally making a cut on the European Tour?
We’ll have to wait to find out.
Golf in Switzerland
Switzerland borders to the east of France, to the north of Italy and to the west of Austria. All have more of a foothold in the sport.
The honor of top all-time Swiss golfer goes to Andre Bossert, who won the 1995 Air France Cannes Open on the European Tour. He was also a three-time Challenge Tour winner.
Despite golf being a low-priority sport in this mountain nation (hello, skiing), there are still some beautiful courses. The most recognizable is Crans-Montana, which offers picturesque views for the European Tour’s Omega European Masters.
Per Top100GolfCourses.com, there are about 90,000 affiliated golf club members spread around 100 courses. Most courses are at elevation, so if you want to feel good about your ball striking distances, this is the place to be.