He may be returning to a familiar scene but it will be a new experience for Austria’s Matthias Schwab when he tees it up at the Shot Clock Masters on June 7-10, 2018.
The 23 year old made his professional debut at Diamond Country Club last season after graduating from Vanderbilt University in the United States - in what was then the Lyoness Open powered by ORGANIC+ - and he’s excited to experience the new development this year, which sees the tournament becoming the first in professional golf to use a shot clock oneveryshot.
Schwab said: “I’m totally for fast play. I’m excited that the Shot Clock Masters is being tested in Austria. I know the course well so I think that will maybe be a bit of an advantage, but it will be new and different for every one of us. I don’t really know what to expect but it will be interesting.
“Making my professional debut at home was obviously good timing for me. I had just finished college and the plan was always to turn pro when I was done. I had a date in my mind and it coincided with the Lyoness Open last year, which was great. It was fun, pretty exhausting, but a nice week and a good start and I’m looking forward to coming back this year.”
After turning professional in 2017, Schwab earned his European Tour card through Qualifying School and has made a positive start in the pro ranks, finishing inside the top 30 four times in nine appearances - including tied fourth at the Hero Indian Open in March - and is making his Rolex Series debut at the Italian Open this week.
He has also recorded two top tens on the Challenge Tour this season, at the Barclays Kenya Open and the D+D Real Czech Challenge.
He said: “It’s fun to be out here and play with some of the great European players. It’s still the same game, but it’s just a lot more golf and a lot more travelling than at college. One difference is that you don’t really have team mates around you in the same way - maybe my caddie who is travelling with me is my team mate!
“This season has been really cool. It’s always been my goal to get to the European Tour and play with the best players in the world.”
The 2018 Shot Clock Masters will be the first tournament in professional golf to use a shot clock oneveryshot.
The European Tour experimented with a shot clock on one hole at the inaugural GolfSixes in 2017 – a move which proved popular with both players and fans. In a marked difference to the GolfSixes model however, this tournament will embrace the Tour’s official timing policy (similar to policies used across the world of professional golf) over 72 holes, with an intent to showcase a European Tour event played at a more compelling pace.
In accordance with this official policy, each player in the field will have 50 seconds for a first to play approach shot (including par 3 tee shot), chip or putt and 40 seconds for a tee shot on a par 4 or par 5 or second or third to play approach shot, chip or putt.
Players will incur a one-shot penalty for each bad time incurred. Each player will have the right to call two time extensions during a round which will permit them twice the usually allotted time to play the shot.
In 2016 the European Tour pledged to speed up the game of golf, introducing a new pace of play policy which included monitoring penalties, handing referees additional powers to target slow players. This policy had an immediate effect, leading to a visible reduction in round times, and the additional development in Austria could have an even more dramatic impact.
