Eight-time European Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger is expecting another low-scoring week on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates for the Aviv Dubai Championship, as the Austrian looks to finish the season on a high in the Emirate.
The 36-year-old finished in a share of eighth at last year’s tournament, six shots behind champion Antoine Rozner who reached an impressive 25 under par on the Greg Norman-designed track.
Despite the European Tour heading there for the first time last season, Wiesberger had prior course knowledge having used the world-class facilities at the European Tour Destination to prepare for upcoming seasons in years gone by.
“I’ve played the Fire course a few times during the off-season,” said Wiesberger. “It’s a great place to prepare for the season as it’s such a nice facility. I’s kind of strange to come to a golf course you’ve played away from a tournament week to then come and play competitive golf - you can’t really say what the winning score is going to be, but it was really low so I expect the same this week.
“I really need to come out firing on all cylinders, dig deep and make a load of birdies. I did that last year and it feels good to get going from the first shot onwards and really push forward. Sometimes it’s really nice to have those weeks where you need to shoot five, six or seven under each day and post a really low score.”
Wiesberger was last in action at last month’s Andalucía Masters, where he was frustrated with his final round display after struggling with his short and mid irons. But after a few weeks away from competitive action, coupled with some work on his game, the 2020 Ryder Cup is ready to get back in the swing of things.
“The hard part around Valderrama is getting yourself into the position to have those short to mid irons to make a score, and I did that really well off the tee on the Sunday,” reflected Wiesberger. “What is normally a strength in my game, turned out to be a liability that day and things didn’t plan out with my short to mid irons.
“I’ve been working on it a little bit and tightening things up ahead of the final events of the year. I feel good about it after having a couple of weeks off with some good practice sessions under my belt.
“I enjoyed time at home, I’ve been on Tour for 15 years now, so I’d done a lot of travelling. I saw friends, recharged and did other things away from golf, however I did enjoy my time out on the course practicing the last couple of days. Just getting that little bit of hunger and competiveness back, although it doesn’t take much for me to get me motivated for these events out here at the end of the year. I’m ready and looking forward to it, and hope to have eight great final rounds of the year.”
