Ralph Hasenhuttl
WHILE Ralph Hasenhuttl will be going all out for three points against Wolves on Sunday – he is also hoping another Austrian brings home a victory of his own. After facing up against Bruno Lage’s side at St Mary’s, the Saints boss will be rooting for Ryder Cup rookie Bernd Wiesberger, as he makes his debut for Europe in the prestigious matchplay event at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Hasenhuttl first met the 35-year-old world number 63 when playing in a Pro-Am event in Germany and even went to see him compete at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth earlier this month. And although he admits his own golf game is “average” the Saints boss insists spending time among one of the world’s best golfers has helped him learn. Asked about playing alongside Wiesberger by the Daily Echo,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “It was super interesting to be honest. We met the first time when I had a Pro-Am in Germany. I played with him and we had a good round together. I think it was two weekends ago when I watched him at Wentworth. He is a super relaxed guy – I was talking with him on the 17th tee and spoke with him in the middle of all those people there in German Austrian, they couldn’t understand what we were talking about! But he is a super guy, he’s a very cool guy. It’s fantastic for him to be part of this big tournament and I really enjoy the Sunday, because I think he will play there and hopefully he takes a point for Europe. It’s a very big event, fantastic to watch. I like the Ryder Cup. When I cancelled my contract in Leipzig I was in Paris and I watched it live. It was a very enjoyable event for me to be honest, I met Thomas Tuchel there also! We were both watching there. It was good to see a fantastic event and I like to watch it.”
Dealing with pressure and decision making on a regular basis is something Hasenhuttl has become used to, having started his managerial career back in 2007. Asked whether he could learn from golfers operating under pressure in their own field,
Ralph Hasenhuttl replied: “Yeah, I think it’s psychologically a demanding job definitely. The power and pressure they have is amazing. When you have a three-foot putt and it’s about everything, you have to be absolutely balanced. A lot of things you can definitely take – you dig into it. I also play golf myself and I know how good you can switch off there, because you must be fully concentrated on this sport when you want to play it. This is the interesting part of this game I think.”
