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Steinlechner made 4 of his last 7 cuts, highlighted by a T15 finish at the Joburg Open. He fired a round of 66 on Friday in Belgium last week to make the cut and has shown some nice putting form of late ranking 10th for it at Hero Indian Open. He was T22 at this event last year with strong middle rounds of 66-64 before he won the Interwetten Open on the Challenge Tour only 8 weeks later on altitude in Schladming with a 21-under score, following a superb round of 61 on Friday, so at his home open again on altitude, Steinlechner makes a decent long shot to go with.

Schott has been starting quite well of late as he co-led after the opening round at the Bahrain Championship with a 7-under 65. He began that round with a double bogey and eventually went on to win. He also led after the first round at the Hero Indian Open with a 6-under 66. He was very good out of the blocks early in Catalunya, where he started with a 5-under 67, so he is playing well, especially early on Thursdays, making him a decent long shot to get off to another quick start.

Couvra has been getting off to great starts lately. His best round came on Thursday in 4 of his last 6 starts, and the other 2 times that first round was joint best of his all four rounds as he tends to get off to quick starts and then slowly fade away during the weekend. His last 5 starts on the DP World Tour all saw him sit inside the top 16 after the first round, with opening rounds of 67, 69, 68, 68 and 66 last week in Belgium, so got to see decent price backing him to start strong again.

Darius van Driel has been in very fine form of late, notching finishes of T18 at the Hero Indian Open, T8 at the Volvo China Open, T4 at the Turkish Airlines Open, and T13 at the Soudal Open last week after missing the cut in Barcelona. He played on the Alps Tour and won in both Switzerland and Austria on similar courses, while his first win on the DP World Tour came in Kenya, which is also played at altitude like Kitzbuhel this week. He isn't very long off the tee, so these courses at altitude in thinner air help his game. He already has a T4 finish back in 2020 at this event, so got to fancy him to go well again this weekend and possibly contend for the win.

Lawrence has 5 wins on the DP World Tour in the last 5 years, and 2 of those came in neighboring Switzerland at Crans, which is at an altitude similar to Kitzbuhel this week. He hasn't been in the best form this year, with finishes of T10 at the Dubai Classic and T6 at the Hainan Classic being his highest. However, he was in even worse shape last year when he missed 3 straight cuts before winning at Crans in August. He comes here after a solid opening round of bogey-free 5-under 66 last week in Belgium, so at this price Thriston is worth giving a look.

Premlall stormed onto the scene with a memorable win at Catalunya just 3 weeks ago when he finished 28 under, beating the whole field by 14 strokes. This 22-year-old South African notched his first pro win late in 2024 on the Sunshine Tour and racked up a bunch of further top-5s on it before coming to the DP World Tour, where he didn't wait long for his first win. He was solid T30 last week in Belgium in his first start since that breakthrough win, which must be a positive sign, especially considering that he was awful off the tee. Driving won't be a big factor on the shorter course this week at altitude in Kitzbuhel, so with his red-hot putting and fantastic approach play, there's excellent value backing the youngster to contend for the win again.

Del Rey has been getting off to some excellent starts of late as he led after the first round in 3 of his last 8 starts, alongside one 2nd place. He co-led at both the SA Open Championship and the Bahrain Championship with identical rounds of 65, before he solo-led the Volvo China Open with a fantastic 10-under round of 61. He is playing well of late, with 3 top-15 finishes in his last 5 starts, and with his fast starts, he represents excellent value and is worth backing for another strong opening round.

Steinlechner led the Joburg Open after the first round of 64 inMarch, and on his last visit to Austria he won the Interwetten Open on the Challenge Tour that included a fantastic round of 61 on Friday. He also closed the D+D Real Czech Challenge next week with another round of 61, showing he can go low on different courses. That Interwetten Open he won was played at altitude in Schladming, so altitude here in Kitzbuhel should suit him well too, making him a value pick for a strong opening round.