26 Jul 2021 at 13:21 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 27071 | News search

Patrick Schleich /Youth Champion Male - Match Play  (Photo by Christian Heyl)

Seefeld-Kadolz, Austria – With the previous cancelations of tournaments in 2021 and the inability to hold any national tournaments through May 2021, it was with great pleasure and excitement that the National Austrian Championships for both the Youth and General class could take place July 13th through July 17th at MGV Seefeld/Kadolz near the Czech border.

A total of 70 putters made the trip to play in 3 events: stroke play, mixed pairs and match play. These participants continued to be under strict Covid rules to ensure everyone’s safety, with vaccinations or daily testing required. Despite these additional rules, everyone was happy to be back on the course and getting together after such a long absence brought a friendly atmosphere and no admonitions for the whole tournament.

After 10 rounds in the general class divisions, Patrick Riener (1. Adventure Golf Club Gumpoldskirchen) would set the score of the tournament with a 201 that included four 19s, which propelled him to a 5 stroke victory. Elisabeth Gruber (BGSC Klaus) would also handily win the women’s division with a 208, 7 strokes better than second place, powered by no scores above 23 for the tournament. In both divisions, second and third place were only separated by 1 stroke with Manfred Lindmayr (BGC Wien) taking silver in the mens, Heinz Weber (Wiener ASVÖ Team 21) with bronze and then Michaela Irxenmayer (MGC ASKÖ Ybbstal) with silver in the women’s and Claudia Grill (MGC Herzogenburg) with bronze.

Across the various 8 round youth divisions Achim Kronbichler (Sport Oase-Putter Team Salzburg) scored an impressive 179, thanks in part to a perfect 18 in round 4. The remaining division top 3 are as follows:

Female Children
1st - Sandra Irxenmayer (MGC ASKÖ Ybbstal)
2nd - Janette Praher (ASKÖ MSC Linz Lissfeld)
3rd - Sina Munzert (MGC Blau-Weiß)

Female Youth
1st - Sabrina Silvia Schichta (MGV Seefeld/Kadolz) – only competitor

Male Children
1st - Daniel Schleich (MGC Blau-Weiß)
2nd - Luca Peböck (Polizei SV Steyr)
3rd - Florian Perischa (BGSC Raiba Leobersdorf)

Male Youth
1st - Achim Kronbichler (Sport Oase-Putter Team Salzburg)
2nd - Patrick Schleich (MGC Blau-Weiß)
3rd - Fabio Brunnauer (MGC Neumarkt/Wallersee)

In the four round Mixed Pairs competition, Manfred Lindmayr and Johanna Knotzer (BGC Wien / Post SV Wien) cruised to a 5 stroke victory with an 83, backed by a strong 19 in the first round. This gold added to Lindmayr’s silver in the stroke competition. The competition was close after that with Mathias Jagschitz and Simon Ager (MSV Unterland) coming in at 88 for second place, one stroke head of a pack of four teams fighting for the last podium position. Ultimately the team of Mario Perischa and Petra Perischa (BGSC Raiba Leobersdorf) would find the playoff and secure third place. In the Juniors Mixed Pairs, which featured all youth categories, first place was similarly well ahead as Achim Kronbichler and Sandra Irxenmayer (Sport Oase-Putter Team Salzburg / MGC ASKÖ Ybbstal) rode four sub-25 scores to a 90 and an 8 stroke victory, which was Achim’s second gold of the week. Second and third were also close in this division as Daniel Schleich and Janette Praher (MGC Blau-Weiß / ASKÖ MSC Linz Lissfeld) prevailed by 1 stroke with a 98 over Lukas Schuster and Sabrina Silvia Schichta (1. SMGSC Werfen / MGV Seefeld/Kadolz).

Finally, in match play, Bernd Gaida made his way past Patrick Riener in the semi-finals and triumphed over Hans Peter Werner in the finals to take the men’s general class. Patrick Schleich managed to move up from his second place stroke play finish and took the win from Achim Kronbichler in the male youth class. Claudia Grill would move up from bronze in the women’s general class, similarly knocking off the stroke play winner Elisabeth Gruber in the final. It was also a similar scene in the female youth class as Janett Praher moved from second to first with a win over Sandra Irenmayer.

Full results can be found at the links below.

Thank you to Willy Bauer for providing information for this article.

SHARE Share Tweet