The 2026 season was difficult and challenging for me in many ways. Alongside the sporting challenges, there was also a situation away from the golf course that occupied me for several months and demanded a great deal of my attention.

Not where I want to be in sporting terms

Looking back, I have to acknowledge that over the past two years I have too rarely managed to put together several good, solid rounds in succession. Although I was repeatedly able to show my potential as a player, I lacked the consistency over longer periods that I needed to establish myself at the level I am aiming for.

A particularly clear example was Q-School in Denmark. After an excellent opening round of seven under par, I followed it with a round of five over par the next day and ultimately failed to qualify for the Second Stage. Such fluctuations in performance are disappointing and raise questions that I need to examine closely. The exact reasons cannot be reduced to a single factor. However, the exceptional circumstances away from the golf course certainly played their part.

The incident involving the DP World Tour

As some of you may have learned from the media, I was suspended by the DP World Tour for ten tournaments of the 2026 season following an incident at a tournament. For legal reasons, I was able and willing to say very little about what happened. Now, as part of an honest review of my season, I feel it is important to address the incident a little more openly and offer some insight into how I experienced those months and why they were challenging for me beyond the sport itself.

At the heart of the matter was the allegation that, at the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic on 12 June 2025, I had not replaced my ball on the green in exactly its original position. At that point I was four over par, in approximately 120th place. During a short hearing after the round, I was asked whether I might have replaced my ball incorrectly. My answer at the time, which was certainly somewhat naive, was essentially: “That might perhaps have been possible… but certainly not with the intention of gaining an advantage.”

What I did not realise at the time was that this hearing was being recorded, without my having been expressly informed beforehand, and would be used as the most important piece of evidence. My quick and ill-considered statement subsequently became a central part of a legal dispute with the DP World Tour that lasted around six months.

In the end, a ten-tournament suspension was imposed. After consulting my team, I accepted this decision without reservation. Firstly, I did not want to take legal action against my future employer. Secondly, looking back, I realised that my answer at the time had been ill-considered and that I had to take responsibility for my statements.

What did surprise me was the scale the matter subsequently took on in public. In particular, reporting outside the specialist golf media, including in Blick, meant that the subject was repeatedly brought up over a period of months.

To make matters more difficult, several tournaments at the start of the season were cancelled because of the sudden outbreak of war in the Middle East. This even meant that I was unable to take part in our home tournament, the Swiss Challenge in Sempach.

A burden that did not end at the golf course

For around half a year, I was regularly asked about the incident. Instead of being able to focus fully on my training, my development as a player and my preparations for the season, I repeatedly had to deal with this matter.

I do not want to present these circumstances as the sole explanation for my sporting performances. Ultimately, I am responsible for delivering the results on the golf course. Nevertheless, it would not be honest to claim that this exceptional situation had no effect on me or on my preparations for the season.

Why I am still looking ahead with confidence

What gives me particular confidence for the future is my personal development and my progress as a player. Technically, I feel I am at a significantly higher level today than I was one or two years ago. I have become more mature as a player, make more considered decisions on the course and stand over the ball with much greater conviction and determination. I did not always have this same clear belief in my shots in the past.

The real challenge at the moment is to turn this progress into consistently good results. As paradoxical as it may sound, I feel better and more settled as a golfer than ever before, even if the numbers on my scorecards do not yet reflect that.

Together with my support system, I will analyse the past few months in depth and draw the right conclusions. Particular attention will be paid to the so-called money shots — the decisive shots that determine whether I make birdie, par or bogey, and therefore often decide the success of an entire round. This is an area in which I repeatedly gave away valuable strokes last season.

During the winter months from October to February, I will therefore focus particularly intensively on my short game and putting. My aim is not only to make technical progress, but above all to develop greater confidence and consistency in the decisive situations on the course.

In February, I will begin the new season with the first Pro Golf Tour tournaments in Turkey. I am convinced that consistent work, a clear focus and the support of those around me will allow me to create the conditions needed to bring my potential onto the course more consistently.

I am looking forward to the coming season and am more motivated than ever to take on this challenge and start the new season with complete conviction.