Following Matthew Southgate’s runaway win at the Swiss Challenge, the HotelPlanner Tour heads to Austria for just the second edition of the Interwetten Open. Here’s all you need to know before play begins at Schladming-Dachstein Golf Club…
The Course
Known as the “Pebble Beach of the Alps”, Schladming-Dachstein Golf Club is located in the scenic Ennstal Valley and is consistently ranked as one of the top 15 of the 170-plus courses in Austria.
Schladming-Dachstein was founded in 1987 by Franz Wittmann, a famous rally driver who has won Austria’s national championship on 12 occasions and now operates as Club President.
The course itself sits at 750 metres above sea level and is surrounded by mountains over 2,500 metres tall that are used for skiing through the winter, creating stunning views throughout.
Designed by two-time Masters winner Bernhard Langer, the course has two signature holes, the first coming at the short par-three sixth. The hole is just 150 yards in length but is fraught with danger, with water short and a huge bunker covering the front and right sections of the green ready to catch any stray shots.
The other stand out is the 18th. Voted the most beautiful par-five in Austria, the hole is demanding from tee to green, with a copse of trees sitting in the middle of the fairway, before player’s are required to hit to an island green. Drama at the last is very likely this week.
Past Winners
Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner was the victor at the 2025 Interwetten Open, a final round 64 securing a two-shot victory on home soil. It was the defining moment in the 26-year-old’s season, as he went on to secure a DP World Tour card by finishing third in the Road to Mallorca Rankings. Steinlechner went on to secure a seventh place finish at the Austrian Alpine Open two weeks ago, before finishing third at last week's KLM Open, as he looks to keep his place on Golf’s Global Tour.
Austria featured for the first time on the HotelPlanner Tour all the way back in 1992, when Welshman Stephen Dodd was victorious, and has been a regular feature since. Before becoming the Interwetten Open, the Austrian event was the Euram Bank Open at Adamstal Golf Club, also owned by Franz Wittmann. Frank Kennedy prevailed there in 2024, with Casey Jarvis winning in 2023 before graduating to the DP World Tour.
Playing on Home Soil
Lukas Nemecz will be hoping an event on home soil can help strengthen his chances of earning a DP World Tour card this year. The Austrian fell out of a graduate spot at the Rolex Grand Final last year, having entered the final week in 18th and with one hand on a life-changing DP World Tour card. Nemecz is once again the leading Austrian on the Road to Mallorca this year, sitting 40th in the rankings, but will be looking this week to improve that position.
Matthias Schwab is also in the field this week, having lost his place on the DP World and PGA Tour through injury. Schwab has struggled this year but will be looking to bounce back at a course just minutes away from his birthplace of Schladming. A host of other homegrown talent will also fly the flag for Austria this week.
