Sepp Straka is excited by the chance to fulfil a childhood ambition as he makes his long-awaited return to competitive action in Austria in search of a maiden DP World Tour title.
Home hero Straka is the headline player in this week's field for the Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol, returning to compete at his national open for the first time since 2018.
Back then, his appearance at the Shot Clock Masters - a former version of the Austrian Open - was just his fifth start on the DP World Tour but he has since become a global superstar.
Born in Vienna but US-based since his teenage years, Straka became the first Austrian to win on the PGA TOUR when he won the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, in 2022.
A year later, he won his second PGA TOUR title at the Sanderson Farms Championship, before going on to finish joint second at The Open and represent Europe at the Ryder Cup for the first time.
He then won twice stateside in 2025 as he later that year became a two-time Ryder Cup winner, with the 33-year-old now hoping to end this week by becoming just the third Austrian champion on home soil after record three-time winner Markus Brier and Bernd Wiesberger.
"That would be incredible," said Straka of what it would mean to win his home championship.
"Growing up, I always went to the Austrian Open. It was at my home course at Fontana back in the day. And I always went with my brother and our friends.
"We couldn't wait for the week to get there and go out and watch the stars play golf and being able just to play is incredible and winning it would be really special.
"It's awesome to be back. Any time I can get back, it's amazing. And then being able to play a tournament here is really special. So, really looking forward to the week."
Aware of the history and tradition of national opens in the game, Straka is the strong pre-tournament favourtie as the top-ranked player in the field.
While he may be without a win so far this year, he has three top tens already and is enjoying being in the spotlight as the tournament's 32nd edition takes place at Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith for the first time.
Set amidst the Tyrolean mountains, Straka is full of praise for the DP World Tour's newest venue as he looks to better his previous best result at this event of tied seventh at Diamond Country Club in 2017.
"I can't wait for the crowds to get to the golf course," he said.
"It was a special year back in 2017. It was a fun week. I had probably my best professional finish to date.
"It [the course] is great. It's really tight off the tee, so you're going to have to hit it pretty straight.
"The rough is pretty thick this year [and] the greens are tiny. So I think off the tee is going to be pretty important this week."
