Today, I am getting ready for the first round of the €2 million Omega European Masters which is being held at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland.
It is Pro-Am day in the mountains today.
I am playing in the Pro-Am alongside three of my Polish sporting heroes.
Firstly, Jerzy Dudek, our former Polish National goalkeeper who played for Liverpool and was one of the heroes in the 2005 Champions League Final in Turkey.
To complete the fourball Team, I am paired with two other Polish elite athletes: Mariusz Czerkawski, a former ice hockey player for the Boston Bruins and Mateusz Kusznierewicz, an Olympic Gold Medal winner and World, European Champion in sailing in both the OK Dingy and Finn Dingy categories.
Pro-Am Team
We have a very competitive Pro-Am Team, probably too competitive to score in golf, but I will report back on how it all goes and if we won the Pro-Am trophies or not.
I played in this tournament last year and finished tied 27th with rounds of 70, 69, 67 and 69, to finish five under par. The winning score was 13 under par, by the then 20 year-old Dane Rasmus Hojgaard,
I am the second highest ranked player in the field on the DP World Tour Rankings behind Ryan Fox who is fifth and the second highest in the OWGR, again behind Foxy, who is in 48th on the list and I am 11 spots behind him in 59th.
I have not struck a ball in competition since The Open at St Andrews in July.
I have missed five events on the DP World Tour since The Open, primarily because I knew I needed a complete break from tournament golf: to keep fresh and active and not burn out. That is a model I am looking to continue as long as the good golf continues. My Rankings are such that I can now choose and manage my own schedule, rather than having to play every week.
I am in a very fortunate position, but maybe, I deserve this from all my good golf and my good finishes.
Tee 10
For my first-round tee time tomorrow, I am off at 8.10 am in Match 18, off Tee 10 and playing with Sean Crocker (US) and Thriston Lawrence (RSA), both winners on Tour this season, in the Joburg in 2021 late last year and at Fairmont GC, Scotland in the Hero Open, respectively. They lie in 41st and 10th respectively in the DP World Tour Rankings at the start of this week.
It is nice to be getting these preferential draws, not first or last off, and with the better players now that I am a winner on Tour.
Wish me luck and speak to you all after my first round.
- Adrian is a 29 year-old Dubai resident, born in Germany with Polish nationality and plays on the DP World Tour.
