Michael Hoey looks to regain winning habit at Russian Open

Michael Hoey is looking to take advantage of a weaker than usual field to put in a strong showing as a former champion at this week's Russian Open.

The Northern Irishman is without a victory since winning in Russia two years' ago, where he finished four shots clear of Alexandre Kaleka and Matthew Nixon at Tseleevo.

Hoey has shown signs of improvement in recent tournaments after reaching the Paul Lawrie Match Play quarter-finals with top-30 finishes in Denmark and the Czech Republic, and now hopes for an even better display as one of the higher-ranked players featuring this week.

"It's a good opportunity for myself and some of the younger guys to come here and try to get a win, because the field isn't as strong as the likes of Wentworth or the bigger tournaments," Hoey said.

"I haven't really been totally sharp this year. We had a baby at the end of last year so we have two kids now and that can be tough with the travelling.

"I'm definitely disappointed not to have challenged as much this year but I've secured my job on the European Tour for next year, so at least I have that.

"It's been a tough year with the two young ones, but it should get easier and I'm feeling great now so hopefully the end of the year can be good."

The tournament marks the start of the points race for the 2016 European Ryder Cup team, with this week's venue being a Jack Nicklaus Signature design. 

Recent Made In Denmark champion David Horsey returns to Russia as defending champion having seen off Damien McGrane in a play-off 12 months ago, playing alongside Hoey and Thailand's Prom Meesawat for the opening two rounds. 

"I was probably a little bit mentally tired last week, it takes a lot out of you that you don't realise when you win," Horsey told his pre-tournament press conference. "Your confidence is high and you think you can win every week so maybe I have to learn from that.

"It was a course which didn't really suit me, but I felt like I could score but maybe ran out of batteries on Friday."

Edoardo Molinari and Germany's Max Kieffer, without a missed cut in his 20 starts on the European Tour, also feature, while Lee Slattery looks to replicate the kind of displays that saw him narrowly miss out on South African Open victory earlier in the season. 

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"I feel like my form's quite good," Slattery said. "I've had a lot of weeks off due to my ranking but I've had a lot of great invites this year, so it's been an up and down year.

 "I had a couple of weeks at home prior to the Czech Republic and it was a good two weeks. There's been steady progress over the last couple of weeks and hopefully I can come and do some damage here.

"It's been a strange sort of season and hopefully I can finish the season well and get a full category for next year."

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