Bacher back for more in Almaty

HP Bacher is back at the Kazakhstan Open and hoping to go one better than last year’s dramatic play-off defeat, when he lost out to Scotsman Scott Henry following a stunning final round of 64.

The Austrian came from nowhere on championship Sunday at Zhailjou Golf Club last year to tie things up at the end of regular play, but came up short after the second play-off hole as Henry claimed a maiden Challenge Tour title.

It was the best result of Bacher’s career, however, and he took more positives than negatives, especially given the nature by which he soared up the leaderboard at crunch time.

He is hoping those good memories can help him produce another big performance in one of the biggest tournaments of the season, this time hosted at the beautiful Nurtau Golf Club.

“It’s nice to be back,” said the 26 year old. “The hotel here is great, the people are friendly and the place is great so it’s always a nice week but I have no expectations coming here, I'm just going to go out and play.

“Of course things might have been a lot different for me this year if I won that play-off but it was a new experience for me so it was great.

“It was a great final day last year. It was great that I even got into the play-off with a 64 and that’s the way I have always looked upon it. Overall it was a really good day and just fun.

“It’s a nice feeling to arrive here and it is really nice thinking back on it. It’s a different course this year but it’s a lovely set-up, a whole new situation and I just want to play well again and have fun this year.”

At 118th position in the Challenge Tour Rankings, Bacher is in need of a big week very soon but knows from experience that a strong finish in the lucrative Kazakhstan Open can change everything.

“It’s pretty hard to analyse my season so far because it’s different things all the time,” he said. “I still feel like things are starting to come together but now it’s time it started happening for four days. I still feel I'm well able to compete right at the top on Challenge Tour

“I have a lot of new different experiences this year and I'm just going to check out this course and work it out and I'm looking forward to the week.

“There is always a chance that you can get a big result at tournaments like this out of nowhere. I don’t have any expectations after what I have done so far this year but that can be a good thing.

“There is still plenty of money to be played for in the final tournaments and anything can happen.”<br /><div><br />
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