Stephen Leaney, runner-up in the US Open Championship last month, will face many of golf’’s biggest names when he defends his Linde German Masters title at Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany, from September 18-21. With the tournament carrying a €3,000,000 prize fund - the largest in Continental Europe – a world class field will be vying for the €500,000 first prize and five-year exemption to The European Tour.
Twelve months ago Leaney added his name to the illustrious list of past champions when he held off the challenge of local favourite Alex Cejka with a 22 under par total of 266. Last month he produced another outstanding performance in finishing runner-up to Jim Furyk in the US Open Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club, Matteson, Illinois.
Among those attempting to wrest the title from Leaney will be 2001 and 2002 Volvo Order of Merit winner, Retief Goosen of South Africa, Padraig Harrington of Ireland, Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and Spain’’s José Maria Olazábal.
Welshman Phillip Price, who followed his victory in the Smurfit European Open with a joint second place finish in The Barclays Scottish Open, is also in the field along with Ryder Cup team-mates Niclas Fasth and Pierre Fulke.
Local favourite, Bernhard Langer, who co-promotes the tournament with his brother, Erwin, will be aiming to capture the title for a record fifth time, having been successful on home soil in 1989, 1991, 1997 and 2001.
During this year’’s Linde German Masters there are also three hole-in-one prizes on offer at the eighth, 11th and 16th holes including a kilogram of gold, established by that Dresden bank CORP., Multimedia equipment, from the Siemens CORP., and an audi A8 can be won.
For tickets please call the ticket hotline +49 (0) 8238 958 9859, or order through the internet at linde-german-masters.de.
