One of the most spectacular stops on the European Tour, the Omega European Masters returns to Crans-sur-Sierre for the 70th consecutive time. Here is the lowdown on one of the most revered golf tournaments in the world...
Rewind
It was Danny Willett who held his nerve just over 12 months ago to close out fellow countrymen Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton to win the Omega European Masters.
Clinching his third European Tour title, it was a day to remember for Willett, who finished at 17 under par. The Sheffield native led from the halfway point in the Swiss mountains and carded a bogey-free final round of 65, to finish one shot ahead of Fitzpatrick, with Hatton one shot further back on 15 under par.
The Field
Headlined by Masters Champion and the man defending this week, Willett. The 28 year old currently leads the Race to Dubai and is ranked 11th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Having secured two European Tour titles already in 2016, he will bid to become the first player since the late, great Seve Ballesteros in 1978, to retain the trophy and will be bidding for an Omega double after winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic title in February.
The Englishman will be joined in Crans Montana by his compatriots Lee Westwood, who won the Omega European Masters in 1999, Chris Wood, the 2016 BMW PGA Championship winner, and Matt Fitzpatrick, who has registered another European Tour victory at the Nordea Masters since that runner-up finish here in 2015.
Meanwhile American Bryson DeChambeau will compete in the event for the first time. The 2015 US Amateur Champion has made an impressive start to his career, finishing a highly creditable fourth place at the RBC Heritage just weeks after turning professional. The 22 year old shone again in June at the US Open Championship at Oakmont, where he finished tied 15th on a very demanding layout.
Popular Spaniard Miguel Ángel Jiménez, who has appeared 26 times in the Omega European Masters, is back to try and add to the title he won here in 2010, while a 17th appearance for 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke beckons in an an event in which the Northern Irishman has enjoyed plenty of success, having posted six top ten finishes over the years.
The Course
At almost 5,000ft above sea level, the stunning surroundings of the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland provide some of the most majestic views for golfers and fans alike on the European Tour.
The Omega European Masters will be staged for the 70th time at the stunning Alpine venue, and will remain host until 2022 after the existing deal with title sponsors Omega was extended by five years.
Famous in the winter months for its ski fields, Crans-sur Sierre closes under several feet of snow, however summer provides perfect playing conditions for some of the world’s best golfers, and when you add the snow-capped Swiss Alps as your backdrop, it makes for one incredible tournament.
After the memorable pictures of Himmerland Hill in Denmark last week, look out for the picturesque par three 13th hole, which also provides an amphitheatre, not to mention a spectacular backdrop, for fans to watch the action unfold.
Did you know?
• Danny Willett will be looking to make a successful defence of the Omega European Masters he won in 2015. Should he be victorious again he would become the first player to achieve this feat since Seve Ballesteros (1977-78). He will also be looking for an Omega double, having already won the 2016 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
• Should the Masters Tournament Champion win for a second season in a row, he would become the first Englishman to win the same European Tour event in back-to-back years since Luke Donald (2011-2012 BMW PGA Championship).
• In 2010 Miguel Angel Jiménez won his first Omega European Masters title at the 22nd attempt. This was a then European Tour record for a player competing in the same event the most times before winning it for the first time. He then broke his own record, winning the Open de España in 2014 at the 27th time of asking.
• One of 17 different players to shoot an official 60 since the European Tour’s first season in 1972, Jamie Spence did so to win the 1992 European Masters. Beginning the final round ten shots behind the third round leader, Colin Montgomerie, Spence compiled a 12 under par score, to tie Anders Forsbrand after 72 holes, before winning at the second extra play-off hole. This represents the largest final round winning comeback in European Tour history. This has since been equalled by Paul Lawrie at The 1999 Open Championship.
• Spence’s heroics in 1992 saw him become one of only three players to win a European Tour event after shooting 60 in the final round. The other two were Ian Woosnam (1990 Torras Monte Carlo Open) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (2009 Austrian Golf Open).
• The Omega European Masters, staged at Crans-sur-Sierre, has the distinction of being the only venue to hold a European Tour event in every season since 1972. The 2016 edition will be the 45th since 1972, the Tour’s first season. The venue has hosted the tournament every year it has been played since 1939.
• Crans-sur-Sierre will be staging the tournament for the 70th successive time. Only Augusta National (80 times for the Masters Tournament), has held the same event more times than the Swiss venue.
• The Omega European Masters is the only European Tour event staged in Europe which is jointly-sanctioned. The tournament has become part of the Asian Tour schedule since 2009.
• Mads Vibe-Hastrup’s albatross in the 2008 Omega European Masters was the fifth in the event since the European Tour’s first season in 1972. This tournament jointly holds the record for most albatrosses with five, along with The Open Championship.
