The European Tour gets back underway with the BMW International Open, which was first played in 1989 and has gone between Golfclub Munchen Echenried in Munich (the home of BMW) and Golfclub Gut Larchenhof in Cologne. In 2017, it will be played in Munich and it has a very good field despite being held the following week of the U.S. Open. Henrik Stenson will be back to defend his title as a two-time champion, as will Sergio Garcia, former champions Ernie Els and Martin Kaymer, and many more. There is a prize fund of over $2.2 million for the players.
Details
Event: BMW International Open
Category: European Tour
Date: June 22-25
Location: Golfclub Munchen Echenried, Munich, Germany
This course generally yields double-digit scores for the winners; in fact, this tournament has never had a winner in single digits. The record was set by John Daly in 2001 as he shot a -27, but he beat Padraig Harrington by a single stroke. Five strokes is the biggest margin of victory and that was set by David Feherty in the first year.
Past Five Winners
2016: Henrik Stenson -17
2015: Pablo Larrazabal -17
2014: Fabrizio Zanotti -19
2013: Ernie Els -18
2012: Danny Willett -11
The Field
Sergio Garcia is going to headline the field this week, which should be a big boost to the ratings. After all, anytime you can get The Masters champ to suit it, it will be good news. He is coming off a disappointing 21st place finish at the U.S. Open last week. He hasn’t been able to crack the Top 10 in four starts since The Masters. Henrik Stenson enters in second place according to the betting odds. He’s coming off a rough week as he failed to make the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open. It’s surprising to see his odds so high for this event because he’s been in a real funk of late. He’s missed the cut in four of his last five PGA Tour starts, so buyer beware if you’re betting him. Behind him are Brend Wiesberger, Tommy Fleetwood and Rafa Cabrera Bello.
What To Know About The Course
Golfclub Munchen Echenried was designed by Kurt Robknecht and opened in 1989, and it has been the home of this tournament from 1997 to 2011, as well as 2013 and 2015. It stretches out to 7,181 yards, so the longer hitters will have an easier time. However, they have to hit the fairways and there are about 90 bunkers that are all over the course, particularly around the greens. Watch out for those that are usually good in terms of Greens-In-Regulation.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Bernd Wiesberger over Tommy Fleetwood
Wiesberger is coming off a T-16 at the U.S. Open, where Fleetwood finished solo fourth. While Fleetwood might be better at his best, Wiesberger is more consistent and hasn’t missed the cut since the PGA Championship, a span of 23 starts. Fleetwood has missed the cut five times since that time, so that has to be a bit of a concern. Wiesberger also won the Shenzhen International, while Fleetwood finished second, so he has that over him. It boils down to the concept that Wiesberger will go on to the weekend and give himself a chance to win, while Fleetwood should, but he could also miss the weekend and he could be burned out by battling Erin Hills late on Sunday.
Top-Five Pick: Pablo Larrazabal
Larrazabal has won this tournament twice, once in 2011 and again in 2015, and he finished T-3 here in 2010, and then T-9 last year. There is just something about this tournament that Larrazabal is a fan of and sometimes, that is all a player needs going into it. Larrazabal needs it after missing the cut at the Nordea Masters, but he did finish solo third at the Volvo China Open two starts ago, so he was playing pretty well before that.
Odds To Win The 2017 BMW International Open
Sergio Garcia +650
Henrik Stensen +750
Brend Wiesberger +1250
Tommy Fleetwood +1650
Martin Kaymer +1850
Rafa Cabrera Bello +1850
Joost Luiten +2250
Pablo Larrazabal +2550
Andy Sullivan +2550
Thorbjorn Olesen +3250
Dylan Frittelli +3250
George Coetzee +3550
Kirdech Aphibarnrat +3550
Victor Dubuisson +4550
Thongchai Jaidee +5050
Fabrizio Zanotti +5050
David Horsey +5050
James Morrison +5500
Mikko Korhonen +5500
Nicolas Colsaerts +5500
Jordan Smith +5500
Dean Burmester +5500
David Lipsky +6550
Brandon Stone +6550
Renato Paratore +6550
Peter Hanson +6550
Marcel Siem +7050
Jaco Van Zyl +7050
Ernie Els +7050
Jbe Kruger +7050
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