Major Champion Charl Schwartzel is happy to be back in Germany for the return of the Porsche European Open.
Back on the European Tour after a six year absence, the tournament is being held in mainland Europe for the first time, having taken place in the UK and Ireland every year since making its debut on the European Tour in 1978.
South African Schwartzel, whose ancestors hailed from Germany, is pleased to come back to a place he feels particularly at home.
He said: "I’ve been to Germany quite a few times. Way back my great-grandfather was born in Germany, so that is where Schwartzel comes from. I feel a bit at home here in Germany and it is nice to be back.
"It is my first time around here. The course gives you a lot of variety and options. You can play aggressively and if you pull it off, with the greens being soft, you can shoot a really low score. Charl Schwartzel
"But there is a lot of danger out there too. So it makes you think which I like, so I think it is a very good golf course."
After finding wins hard to come by over the past two years, the 31 year old has put a lot of work into improving his game and is hoping to reap the rewards in the near future.
He added: "I’m working on a few things right now. The last two years have not been good for me. I’ve had pretty poor seasons, and for my standards, I’m not satisfied.
"Last year in October I started looking at the reasons and I found my golf swing was not good, so gradually I started fixing the weak points and I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable with my long game.
"It feels more like it used to be. And from April I thought I would start playing well and I kept playing badly and I started looking into my putting.
"My stats in American were terrible – I was 170th. So I’ve been paying attention to that and I found the stroke was terrible. At least I feel I’m finding the problems and they are all fixable.
"Every putting stroke was different and it just takes time. When I get it back, it will be more consistent and I will play better golf. It’s not far away.
"I believe I can win quite a few more Majors if I play the way I know I can play. I’ve been frustrated the last couple of years and that is why I have analysed why.
"But I feel better now than I did a year ago. I’ve been working on the right things and moving in the right direction.
"It is small steps but I’m getting it back on track. But if I do, I know that if I play the way I can play, there is no reason I won’t win more golf tournaments and more Majors."
