Having been taught by his father, he underlined his potential by winning the Austrian Amateur Stroke Play Championship three years running, beginning in 2004. His love of skiing could have affected his golf plans in 2003, when he broke his collarbone in an accident on the slopes, but he recovered and enjoyed that successful amateur career before turning pro in 2006. Won twice in the space of three months in 2012, first at the lucrative Ballantine’s Championship and then storming to victory in the Lyoness Open in his native Austria. The highlight of his 2014 campaign came at the US PGA Championship, where he had the honour of playing in the last group alongside eventual winner Rory McIlroy on the final day. Claimed the biggest title of his career at the 2015 Open de France at Le Golf National.