Germany’s Marcel Schneider won the Australian Amateur Championship on the 37th hole in a hard fought match with Queensland’s Daniel Nisbet.
Schneider was four down in the match at various stages but rallied with birdies on four of his last six holes to reel in the Caboolture Golf Club member.
“It’s great, unbelievable – it’s my first big success,” the 21 year old from Stuttgart said. “This ranks really, really high in my career so far. I played the BMW International on the European Tour last year and this is up there with that.”
Schneider said the Woodlands’ layout reminded him of home. “I like courses with all the old trees around them and we have a few in Germany with difficult narrow fairways and perfect greens.”
Schneider, who took up the game properly at the age of 12, had to reel in Nisbet to clinch victory.
“It was a great match and I was always down. I started really badly and was always two down, three down, four down, three down and I said keep going and worked out when I had my chance. I told myself to stay focused and hit the greens and make putts – the putter was good this week” Schneider said.
Schneider is the first German to win the title and the first international player since Norway’s Anders Kristiansen in 2008.
He earns an exemption into the Emirates Australian Open later this year.
