Austrian Alpine Open 2026 Betting Tips: Wiesberger to win at home?

Just two weeks after South African youngster Yurav Premlall’s spectacular 14-shot victory at the Catalunya Championship, veteran compatriot Richard Sterne claimed his own surprise success at the Soudal Open, winning his first DP World Tour title in 13 years.

Off the back of breakthrough wins for Jayden Schaper and Casey Jarvis, it really has been quite the season for the South Africans, and maybe someone else will ride that wave of positivity this week, as the tour heads to Golfclub Kitzbuhel-Schwarzsee-Reith for the Austrian Alpine Open.

Star golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his usual long-read preview of the event. He's picked out five players he likes to follow, so check out Jamie's thoughts and his Austrian Alpine Open 2026 Betting Tips below...

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*You can bet on the tournament and check out the latest Austrian Alpine Open Odds over on betfred.com

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

The Austrian Open, now styled as the Austrian Alpine Open, returned to the DP World Tour (DPWT) calendar last year after a four-year absence. It switches to Golfclub Kitzbuhel-Schwarzsee-Reith this year after being staged at Gut Altentann Golf Club in 2025.

It was first held in 1990 when two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer walked away with the trophy. Other notable winners include Paul McGinley (1996), Bernd Wiesberger (2012) and Joost Luiten (2013). However, home favourite Markus Brier is the most successful player in the event's history, capturing the title on three occasions (2002, 2004, 2006).

Last five winners:

• 2025 (Gut Altentann Golf Club)

Winner: Nicolai Von Dellingshausen (-19)

Runners-up: Kristoffer Reitan, Marcel Schneider (-17)

• 2021 (Diamond Country Club)

Winner: John Catlin (-14, playoff)

Runner-up: Max Kieffer (-14)

• 2020 (Diamond Country Club)

Winner: Marc Warren (-13)

Runner-up: Marcel Schneider (-12)

• 2018 (Diamond Country Club)

Winner: Mikko Korhonen (-16)

Runner-up: Connor Syme (-10)

• 2017 (Diamond Country Club)

Winner: Dylan Frittelli (-12)

Runners-up: David Horsey, Mikko Korhonen, Jbe Kruger (-11)

Germany's Nicolai Von Dellingshausen is the defending champion, finally overhauling countryman Marcel Schneider, who had led after each of the first three rounds. He returns to defend this week.

THE COURSE

Golfclub Kitzbuhel-Schwarzsee-Reith

• Original architect / Year opened: Gerold & Gunther Hauser / 1989
• Par / Yardage: Par 70 / 6,822 yards
• Hole breakdown:
  • 5x par 3s (150-219 yards)
  • 10x par 4s (336-490 yards)
  • 3x par 5s (563-580 yards)
• Course style: The course is built on diverse terrain, featuring a mixture of flat and undulating holes, with some striking elevation changes, while certain holes are tree-lined and others more open
• Fairways:
  • The sloping, largely doglegged fairways are reasonably generous
  • Although they lack bunkers, many angles of attack into the greens will be blocked out by trees if players don't position their ball smartly off the tee
• Greens:
  • The gently undulating greens are small and well protected by bunkers
  • With several playing uphill, approaches into the putting surfaces can be deceptively long
• Defences:
  • Water comes into play on eight holes overall and there are a few out-of-bounds areas
  • Elevation changes combined with the altitude (sitting 2,500 ft above sea level) makes distance control with the irons that bit more difficult

Offering spectacular panoramic views of the Tyrolean Alps, Golfclub Kitzbuhel-Schwarzsee-Reith is a picturesque layout with lots of variety and risk/reward holes.

The two nines have been switched for this event, meaning the more undulating back nine will play as the front nine this week, and the flatter front nine will play as the back. It uniquely finishes with three par 3s across the last six, which just highlights the quirkiness of the challenge on show.

With five par 4s under 400 yards and three par 5s, there are numerous places to attack here, and whilst it has its fair share of danger, I would expect scoring to be good, weather permitting.

THE WEATHER

Although there are a few spots of rain forecast, conditions are predicted to be largely bright and warm in Austria, with temperatures hitting 25°C each day. Gusting winds up to 16mph add a dimension of difficulty, though it will be benign for the most part, meaning there is little to keep the birdies at bay.

KEY STATS

SG: Approach / Greens-in-Regulation (GIR)

Scrambling

Birdie Average

It's difficult to calculate exactly how this will play out, but as a short course with generous fairways and small greens, it's quality with the irons that should separate the field.

I suspect GIR percentages will be low due to the size of the putting surfaces and with that, players will need to scramble well. Meanwhile, with the volume of clear birdie chances throughout the layout, those who rank high in birdie average are of interest.

CORRELATING EVENTS

There are a few comp courses of interest, with last year's host of this event, Gut Altentann Golf Club, a good place to start. It's a par 70 of a similar length built on hilly terrain, showcasing small greens and water in play on 10 holes.

Ticking many of those same boxes and also sitting at altitude in the Swiss Alps, Crans-sur-Sierre, host of the Omega European Masters, is an obvious shout. Meanwhile, we can drop down to the HotelPlanner Tour and fellow Austrian alpine layout Golfclub Adamstal, which staged the Euram Bank Open from 2017-2024.

The Catalunya Championship at Real Club de Golf El Prat's Pink Course is another worth checking out, as a short layout that features dramatic elevation changes and a mixture of open/tree-lined and flat/hilly holes. This description also applies to the 2025 Italian Open held at Argentario Golf Club – a venue that had greens of a similar size to Golfclub Kitzbuhel-Schwarzsee-Reith.

THE FIELD

Making his first home appearance since 2018, four-time PGA Tour winner Sepp Straka is this week's star attraction as the No. 18 player in the world. He's one of just three from inside the top 100 in attendance, alongside Casey Jarvis (No. 73) and Daniel Hillier (No. 94).

Nicolai Von Dellingshausen defends and is joined by a further seven former champions: John Catlin (2021), Marc Warren (2020), Dylan Frittelli (2017), Ashun Wu (2016), Joost Luiten (2013), Bernd Wiesberger (2012), and Rafa Cabrera Bello (2009).

Former PGA Tour and LIV golfer Kevin Na has received a tournament invite, as has one of the leading players on South Africa's Sunshine Tour this year, Austin Bautista.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Sepp Straka 8/1, Casey Jarvis 18/1, Eugenio Chacarra 22/1, Daniel Hillier 25/1, Hennie Du Plessis 25/1, Oliver Lindell 25/1, Nathan Kimsey 25/1, Martin Couvra 25/1

1.75 pts Bernd Wiesberger each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 28/1

Bernd Wiesberger has carried the weight of expectation at this event for many years and as a former winner and runner-up, he's handled it well. Confidence should be sky high after winning in China four starts ago, and with Straka grabbing much of the attention, he could just benefit from that relief of pressure.

Wiesberger was slow to get going this year but turned it around in South Africa, picking up top-15 finishes at the South African Open and Joburg Open. He was then in contention at the Volvo China Open two starts later, and whilst he benefitted from a late Adrian Otaegui collapse there, he still went out and won it with a bogey-free 67 in round four – his first DPWT victory in five years.

Back-to-back 13^th-place finishes at the Turkish Airlines Open and Catalunya Championship followed that. Meanwhile, I'm happy to ignore his missed cut at a difficult PGA Championship on his latest appearance.

He's hitting the ball strongly at present, though it's with the irons he's performing best, ranking 6^th in SG: Approach and 23^rd in GIR. The short game has been neat and tidy, ranking 34^th in scrambling and with some improved putting displays compared to early in the season, the birdies are starting to tally up.

Wiesberger won his national title back in 2012 and went close to a memorable double two years later, finishing 2^nd. A runner-up finish at Crans in 2021 is a major plus and with his 13^th in Catalunya three weeks ago also boding well, I think there's a bit of value about this in-form nine-time DPWT winner.

1.25 pts Kota Kaneko each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 40/1

Having gone oh so close for us in Belgium, Japanese youngster Kota Kaneko looks worth sticking with in Austria. His iron play showed further progress there and, maintaining form with the short game, he can get that maiden win over the line this week.

Kaneko has looked right at home since stepping up to the DPWT this season, missing just two cuts in 11 outings. He’s had six top-25s over those starts, including a first top-10 when 9^th at the Turkish Airlines Open, but he improved on that considerably at the Soudal Open, finishing 2^nd to Richard Sterne.

Part of the reason for selecting him last week was that he’d recently found form in approach to complement his excellent short game, ranking 1^st in SG: Putting and 13^th in scrambling. He blew those previous displays out of the water at Rinkven International, ranking 6^th in SG: Approach, making it three positive strokes-gained displays on the spin.

That’s a skillset that should work wonders for Kaneko this week. With his win at the Taiheiyo Masters on the JGTO in 2025 coming on a similarly hilly, picturesque course at the foot of Mt. Fuji, he should relish teeing it up at this quirky venue.

1 pt J.C. Ritchie each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 60/1

The vibes around the South African players should be extremely upbeat at present, something I’m hoping J.C. Ritchie will capitalise on to make it a hat-trick of wins for his home country in Kitzbuhel. He played well to finish a distant 3^rd to Yurav Premlall three weeks ago and, as a strong tee-to-green performer who makes lots of birdies, this test should suit.

Ritchie stamped his return to the DPWT after a fine season on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2025, where he won three times in Europe to top the Road to Mallorca standings. His start to this campaign offered promise but he really found his feet after a couple of solid efforts back on the Sunshine Tour, returning to finish 9^th at the Turkish Airlines Open and 3^rd at the Catalunya Championship across his last three appearances.

He sits 41^st in SG: Tee-to-Green and has been decent in SG: Approach, ranking 54^th. His high-class scrambling skills (ranking 19^th) will prove important here and, positioned inside the top 30 in birdie average, he should have no problem taking advantage of the abundant scoring opportunities.

South Africans are as accustomed as anyone to playing at altitude and Ritchie put those experiences to use on his Crans debut in 2023, finishing 24^th. He was also 3^rd at the Interwetten Open around another short, quirky Austrian alpine layout on the HotelPlanner Tour last year, and with that recent 3^rd in Catalunya another plus, he has plenty in his favour to contend.

1 pt Guido Migliozzi each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 60/1

After recently finishing 2^nd in Turkey, I was surprised by the price of Guido Migliozzi this week. He’s produced some of his strongest iron play for several years so far in 2026 and, when combined with his sharp short game and an encouraging record at the European Masters, this proven winner holds huge appeal.

Migliozzi played some tidy golf in the Middle East at the beginning of the year, though he stepped it up a level in the China Open, firing a couple of 66s on his way to a 13^th-place finish. He then sat one off the lead going into the final round of the Turkish Open on his following start before eventually finishing 2^nd, and whilst he missed the cut on his latest outing at the Catalunya Championship, I was pleased to see him maintain form in approach.

Indeed, this is where he’s excelled most this year, with his ranking of 25^th in SG: Approach a major upgrade on sitting 99^th in the standings in 2025. The driver remains a concern, but as a continually high-ranking scrambler (top 50 in each of the last three years), the positives outweigh the negatives.

Coming from Northern Italy, Migliozzi didn’t grow up far from the Alpine region and he’s shown a level of comfort in a similar environment at the European Masters, making each of his six cuts in the event and recording four top-20s.

This is a layout that isn’t quite as tight and constricting as Crans, which should in theory be a plus for this wayward driver. As a four-time tour winner who has recently gone close to victory number five, he represents some of the best value in the field.

1 pt Davis Bryant each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 90/1

Colorado’s Davis Bryant is certainly no stranger to playing at altitude, and he used that knowledge to finish 2^nd in Kenya earlier this year. He’s been ultra-consistent in 2026, and as a sound iron player who makes loads of birdies, there’s every possibility of another strong showing in Austria.

Bryant earned his DPWT card via Q-School for the second straight year at the end of 2025 and, missing just three of 13 cuts, he’s performed well this campaign. He’s picked up three further top-20s alongside that runner-up finish at the Magical Kenya Open and has been no worse than 31^st in each of his last four starts.

What he lacks in power he makes up for with accuracy, ranking 8^th in driving accuracy and 44^th in GIR. He’s gaining strokes in approach, around the greens and with the putter this year and, ranking 18^th in birdie average, he creates and converts a tonne of chances.

Bryant performed with promise in Austria last year, sitting 19^th going into the final round before a 73 dropped him to 42^nd place. A 10^th-place finish at the Italian Open in 2025 offers added encouragement and if those irons continue to fire, expect him to be in the mix once again.

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