European Tour Insider: Brier goes home, Fisher's new car

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Ross Fisher has been adjusting to life as a father since his daughter was born in July, including a more practical car.

When it comes to the question of who to follow at this week's Austrian Open, the simple answer is: Markus Brier.

There's nothing mind-bending about the Fontana course near Austria for the home hero.

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He won there on the Challenge Tour, and then when the event was upgraded, he became the first and only Austrian winner on the European Tour.

He calls the course "home," living only a 45-minute drive away.

Yet he accepts the challenge will be different this year.

When it was clear the British Masters would not be staged, the Austrians switched from their previous date in June to this current schedule. The likelihood is that the greens will have benefited from summer heat, and the rough will be more demanding, too.

Brier intends to have another look at the tape of his 2006 victory. He looked at it earlier this year, aiming for inspiration to improve his 102nd position in the Race to Dubai. He'll look again, though he accepts he knows the track better than anyone.

"It is always busy and demands a lot of my time," he says. "I try to take it easy on Monday and Tuesday -- it's not as if I don't know the course -- and stay at home with the family and do any media and promotional work that's required."

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OH VIENNA
Of course, it's not only Brier who has relished the Fontana course.

The 2007 winner from Australia, Richard Green, always inks this event into his calendar, and, last year, Jeev Milkha Singh parred every hole on the final round to claim victory -- emulating Nick Faldo's feat when winning the 1987 Open Championship.

Ireland's Michael Hoey -- a winner this season at the Estoril Open de Portugal -- also has fond memories, having won in Vienna when the event was on the Challenge Tour.

Every week, I have to get a "Tip of the Week" from a Tour player. The former Walker Cup star came up with a twist on how to improve your game.

He preferred to talk about the mental rather than technical side: "Be happy," is his advice. "Because golf can get to you. It's convincing yourself really, creating your own reality."

Having endured a troubled time since his win, let's hope a return to Austria revives the happy thoughts.

KINGSTON'S TOWN
There cannot have been anyone happier than James Kingston in Cologne last week.

The South African won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in a playoff over Anders Hansen for his second Tour title.

"It's unbelievable." he said. "I've always thought this is a special event. Playing alongside Henrik Stenson and Michael Campbell, to come out and beat some of the top players in the world makes it absolutely special."

He hadn't even known he was in the event until the previous week and compares it to winning the South African Open, when he thought he might not be able to play because of injury.

"One minute you don't think you are playing, and the next you win it," Kingston said. "Two wins, and both of them unexpected."

Kingston has had an excellent haul of titles in his home country and has won repeatedly in Asia, but the 43-year-old had struggled to seal the deal in European Tour events. Twice he blew chances in Hong Kong at the 72nd hole.

That's now all consigned to history. "We're in a job where life can change every single week," Kingston said. "One win, one good week, can change your whole career and your whole life."

FATHER FISHER
Ross Fisher's life has changed.

You'll recall the debate about whether the young Englishman would leave Turnberry if his wife went into labor. He is now the proud father of daughter, Eve, who was born a week later.

Sadly, though, he has had to get rid of his Lamborghini in favor of something more practical for the stroller.

SOREN'S SON
Another proud father is Soren Hansen, though he's not so proud of his record at computer games.

The 2007 Mercedes-Benz champion opened this year with a 65 before eventually finishing third, and he believed that first round was as "simple as a computer game."

However, he then confessed that his 4-year-old son, Casper, beats him on the Nintendo Wii. "I try to play a normal shot, but it doesn't quite work," Hansen said. "It's more of a flick, so I'm still learning, and he's still beating me."

GOT ANY Ns?
Look at the top six names at last week's event in Germany, and you'll appreciate there was a headache for the scorers.

With James Kingston defeating Anders Hansen, Soren Hansen, Peter Hanson, Simon Dyson and Henrik Stenson, the leaderboard operators in the lake at the 18th ran out of the letter "N."