"We haven't had an Austrian winner of the Race to Dubai or the overall ranking at any point, so it would be a first. Personally, it would be obviously a huge achievement for me"
Thursday 21 November 2019 09:02, UK
Bernd Wiesberger is relishing the chance to create history in Dubai as he bids to become the first Austrian to end the season as European No 1.
Wiesberger is on the verge of capping a remarkable comeback from a wrist injury which kept him out of competitive golf for the majority of last year, and his three victories this season have earned him a lead of over 800 points in the Race to Dubai heading into the DP World Tour Championship.
A top-three finish this week should be enough for the 34-year-old to secure his first Harry Vardon Trophy, and he is looking forward to the challenge at a venue he has performed well at before, with his best result being a tie for fourth in 2016.
"Unfortunately we haven't had an Austrian winner of the Race to Dubai or the overall ranking at any point, so it would be a first," said Wiesberger, who was in Dubai 12 months ago but only to practice ahead of his comeback event in Mauritius.
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"Personally, it would be obviously a huge achievement for me, growing up watching European Tour golf and legends like Seve, Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie, who won so many times in a row at the time when I started getting into golf. It was something that looked a long distance away, but obviously it's much closer now.
"So we are looking forward to those next four days and giving it everything we have, and hopefully if we count up all the points at the end of Sunday and we're still up there, it would be amazing.
"You know, I'm very, very lucky right now in Austria with not only myself playing well this year but also Matthias Schwab doing a great job, and almost catching a couple titles this year. So yes, good times for Austrian golf right now."
Wiesberger has vowed to avoid concerning himself with the various permutations in the race to be European No 1, insisting his focus remained on his form rather than the leaderboards.
"Right now my focus is on that first tee shot, really, and get the week going," he added. "I've been here so many times in different situations on the Race to Dubai leaderboard, but I know the golf course really well. Most of the guys do, so it's not about getting over-prepared on a golf course, because it hasn't changed much over the years.
"The game plan is there and we'll just see whatever the conditions are going to be from day-to-day. From then on, just be as offensive as possible out there, and be positive towards my targets. You know, we add up four rounds of golf and a couple of points and we'll see where we're at.
"You know, there's just absolutely no point in getting into the mathematics and what ifs and all that. Just trying to play as good golf as possible and that's all we can do."
