After the thrills and spills of the US Open, the European Tour returns this week with one of its more popular events, the BMW International Open in Germany. This tournament is well established on the tour and often produces a decent winner.
Andres Romero took advantage of an invite to relaunch his career here 12 months ago and a similar story this time around would not be a surprise. This is a really good field though for the week after a major and with huge events on the horizon everyone teeing off will be looking for a confidence boost to take into them.
Recent Winners
2017 – Andres Romero
2016 – Henrik Stenson
2015 – Pablo Larrazabal
2014 – Fabrizio Zanotti
2013 – Ernie Els
2012 – Danny Willett
2011 – Pablo Larrazabal
2010 – David Horsey
2009 – Nick Dougherty
2008 – Martin Kaymer
The Course
We return to the Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof for the tournament this year with the event alternating host courses each year. Henrik Stenson was the winner here in 2016 and Fabrizio Zanotti came through a four man play-off in 2014.
This track is designed by Jack Nicklaus so it will be a second shot golf course but they’ve let the rough grow this week and the course is said to be bone dry so we can expect some fiery fairways and greens so accuracy will be at a premium. You generally need a good short game too but I’m after accurate hitters especially with the water in play on a number of holes.
The course is a par 72 but it only measures 7,229 yards so you don’t have to smash it miles to succeed on it as we’ve seen with some previous winners. Given the firmness of the course it is unlikely to play its full yardage.
The Field
The man who came so close to stealing the US Open last week, Tommy Fleetwood, headlines the field this week while former Masters champion Sergio Garcia gives it an added touch of class. Italian Open winner Thorbjorn Olesen also tees it up.
There are a number of Ryder Cup stars on show this week as well with Andy Sullivan, Thomas Pieters and the man who they hope will be their captain in September, Thomas Bjorn all tee it up while some of the young brigade are here too in Matt Wallace, Aaron Rai and Alexander Bjork. Belgian Knockout champion Adrian Otaegui and Shot Clock Masters winner Mikko Korhonen tee it up while Martin Kaymer will look to thrill the home crowds.
Market Leaders
Tommy Fleetwood is the 15/2 favourite for the tournament and I’m sure he will be popular at that price but the mental test the US Open became will surely have taken something out of him and he is without his regular caddy this week so there are enough reasons to look elsewhere even though Fleetwood is good enough to lead these a merry dance.
Sergio Garcia is the 15/1 second favourite but his game hasn’t looked fantastic for a while and despite his record in Europe he feels a little short. Andy Sullivan is starting to show his best form but I’m not rushing to back him at 18/1 just yet although a little later in the campaign I think he could be one to follow.
I don’t think Thorbjorn Olesen is reliable enough off the tee to get involved in this tournament and he was in New York last week which I don’t think is ideal. Even at 20/1 I’m happy to look elsewhere while Thomas Pieters has the talent to take down any course. He tends to fair better on longer, wider courses though so the 25/1 on him offers minimal appeal. It is 33/1 bar.
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Main Bets
I’ll go with two main bets this week with the first of them being a man I’ve religiously been on recently in Mike Lorenzo-Vera. He has been in wonderful form this season with three top 10s and a top 20 at the Italian Open. He lost the play-off of the Rocco Forte Open but he will win a tournament soon and it will probably come on a track like this where there is such an emphasis on tee to green accuracy. At 33/1 this feels like a week to be on with others potentially more likely to win on paper a little jaded after last week.
Another man who was nowhere near the US Open last week is Adrian Otaegui and as I mentioned when he won with my money on him in the Belgian Knockout earlier in the season, when tee to green accuracy is needed there is rarely a need to look anywhere else other than the Spaniard. He has missed all three cuts on this course and while that is a concern he is an infinitely better player now. His iron play has been precise all year and he is good on and around the greens. At 50/1 I can’t ignore him.
Outsiders
Julien Guerrier is another player who has been knocking on the door this season with three top 10 finishes and a fair effort in China too where he would probably have notched up another but for a poor final round. He has shown his immense ability from tee to green and while he has found completing the job on Sunday an issue I think this will be a course where keeping the foot to the pedal is important which might help him. He’s a three figure price which I think is big enough to give him another go at getting over the line.
Anders Hansen is a former runner up around this track and while he doesn’t play as many tournaments these days he has lost none of his tee to green ability in the events he does tee it up in. He started his first event of the year well in Mauritius but a lack of competitive reps probably counted against him over the weekend and he opened with a solid 68 in Austria two weeks ago. He showed his class when finishing in the top 10 at Valderrama towards the end of last season and if this course plays tough he is the kind of player who can slog it out.
Tips
Back M.Lorenzo-Vera to win BMW International Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back A.Otaegui to win BMW International Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Unibet (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back J.Guerrier to win BMW International Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back A.Hansen to win BMW International Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
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