From nowhere Bernd Wiesberger is back in business

Everybody enjoys a good comeback story. We have seen more than our fair share of them in the world of golf - Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy come to mind.

But perhaps one of the most unlikely of all comes in the shape of Bernd Wiesberger of Austria. For a time, he seemed to have it all.

Between 2012 and 2021 he won eight times on the DP World Tour and also lost out in three playoffs. There were some big wins too, including the Scottish Open. He won three times in 2019 and finished third in the Race to Dubai. He also won twice on the Challenge Tour in 2010 and has two Asian Tour successes to his name. There were also 12 top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour.

In August 2021, Wiesberger looked set to claim yet another win at the Omega European Masters. He had a one shot lead going down the final hole, however a double-bogey saw him drop into second place; one shot behind Rasmus Hojgaard. 

In September 2021, he played on the European team in the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, becoming the first Austrian to do so. The U.S. team won 19-9 and Wiesberger went 0-3-0 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against Brooks Koepka. But he would surely have plenty of other opportunities.

Except that it didn’t work out that way. In 2022 he joined LIV Golf. But he struggled from the off and at the start of 2024 he was back on the DP World Tour.

And that hasn’t been going to plan either. This season he missed the cut at the Dubai Desert Classic, Bahrain Championship and Hero Indian Open. But, from nowhere, he has won the Volvo China Open and, all of a sudden, he is back in business, sitting in 16th place in the Race Dubai.

The Austrian started the final round one shot adrift of overnight leader Adrian Otaegui but his round of 67 saw him finish 19-under and three strokes clear at the top of the leaderboard. Otaegui had a miserable back nine that saw him bogey twice and double-bogey the 18th at the Shanghai Enhance Anting Golf Club.

Unsurprisingly, Wiesberger struggled to hold back the tears. He said: "It's been a tough couple of years. This has been an unbelievable week. I played my heart out today, it wasn't pretty at times but I got it done.

"Adrian is a great competitor and had it under control, but something happened on that tenth hole that I can't explain. That's how golf goes sometimes.

"I'm super proud of sticking through hard times on the golf course lately, but this is for everyone at home and couldn't be happier. Everyone is watching and super excited now, and it changes my next couple of years a little bit. It gets me into the Rolex Series events again and that's huge."

And with that, Wiesberger is back in business.