Ladies European Tour and European Tour Austrian stars Christine Wolf, Sarah Schober, Bernd Wiesberger and Matthias Schwab teed it up this week in a ‘behind closed doors’ skins competition that saw €28,200 donated to charity.
At a time when the players cannot participate in international tournaments, the Austrian Golf Association and partners organised this unique mixed event. The match was staged at Schloss Schönborn G.C, one of Austria’s leading golf courses. It was played as a round robin 9-hole skins format with head-to-head matches between every player. Each hole was worth €300 with players donating their accumulated winnings to a charity of their choice.
In accordance with the current COVID-19 regulations, the matches were filmed without spectators. However, all the action is set to be televised over the next three weeks on prime time Austrian TV at 20:15 on ORF Sport + aired on May 31, June 9 and 16. During the programme a further domestic fundraising initiative will take place with proceeds donated to the SOS Children’s Village and its COVID-19 aid project.
The 2019 Hero Women’s Indian Open Champion, Christine Wolf, commented, “I had such a great day competing against Sarah and the guys. It was a really good experience to compete against them and I think all four of us enjoyed playing for a great cause.
“In general we do not spend much time at home, so this was a brilliant opportunity to raise money for our charities and to do it collectively. I’m sure everyone will enjoy watching the matches.”
Following the completion of the 27-hole competition, World #26 Bernd Wiesberger said, “It was great to get out on the course and raise money for charity at the same time. We are very lucky that golf has returned so quickly, and I hope that many people will see how we were able to walk the course, keep our distance and play safely.
“It was great to play against Christine and Sarah too; we rarely get to play against or alongside each other and they both played some exceptional golf.”
LET star Sarah Schober added, “It was a fantastic idea and I am very happy that I was part of it. It was a fun format, I really enjoyed all the matches and it was cool to have both men and women players involved. I hope that we can have more of these kind of events in the future.
“Raising money for such a good cause means a lot to me, especially during these difficult situations. We are all in this together; I am glad that I could help to raise as much money as possible and play my part in supporting a mix of charities.”
Follow all the action over the next three weeks, see which Austrian star won the most skins and how further money will be raised for charity. Golf is certainly back in Austria.
