The DP World Tour returns this week to the Golfclub München Eichenried in Germany for the BMW International Open.
Tom McKibbin is back in action following his triumphant first win on Tour at the European Open in Hamburg. It was a huge achievement from the Holywood native whose DP World Tour stock is now on the rise. McKibbin is part of the marquee groupings for this week’s event. He will tee off Thursday morning (7.30 am Irish Time) alongside Tour veterans and Ryder Cup hopefuls Victor Perez and Eduardo Molinari. A huge testament to the recent success of the twenty-year-old.
The other Irish man in action is Cork’s John Murphy. Murphy’s last appearance was at the Andalucia Challenge Tour event in Spain where he finished up in a tie for 56th place. He tees off in the afternoon groupings (12.40 pm Irish Time) alongside Renato Paratore and Mateusz Gradecki.
With the US Open taking precedence last weekend this is the first DP Tour event since the Scandinavian Open in which Englishman Dale Whitnell ended his 14-year wait for a win on Tour. Ten members of the Tour have made the trip back from Los Angeles in search of success this week. Only one (Romain Langasque) made the cut last weekend.
Looking at form players and potential winners this week there are a couple of names that come to mind. Pablo Larrazabal (22/1) is one of those who returns from the States. The Spaniard has shown some fantastic form on Tour this year winning two events in Korea and recently at the KLM Open in Holland. Larrazabal is also a two time winner of this event and boasts the lowest combined round score of 69.55 of any entrant this week who’s played over ten rounds on this track.
A home favourite is always well followed on the DP World Tour and Marcel Siem’s (40/1) support should be no different. Having finished second to McKibbin in Hamburg at the European Open, it’s clear to see that Siem played some of his best golf while being roared on by the home crowd.
Last year’s winner Haotong Li (150/1) will be looking to defend his crown this week. However, with no cut made in the last five, it is unlikely that Li will repeat his 2022 heroics, but you never know!
The course itself is a flat, tree-lined course with water hazards scattered amongst the 7,284-yard par 72 track. There are plenty of risk/reward opportunities for the players this week with four mid-range par-5s and a couple of driveable par 4-s that should make for some entertaining viewing. The course layout should suit those who are comfortable over mid-range iron shots, with a hot putter being the deciding factor for success here.
*All odds are in line with PaddyPower.com at the time of writing
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