BMW International Open 2023 Tips: 100/1 shot one of five picks for Germany

Our expert Golf tipster Jamie Worsley had another profitable week, last week and he has five more selections for the DP World Tour event, the BMW International Open. 

BMW International Open 2023 Tips

• 1.75 pts Romain Langasque each way (1/5 – 6 places) – 28/1 
• 1.25 pts Richard Mansell each way (1/5 – 8 places) – 40/1 
• 1 pt Kiradech Aphibarnrat each way (1/5 – 7 places) – 70/1 
• 1 pt Sebastian Soderberg each way (1/5 – 8 places) – 70/1
• 1 pt Guido Migliozzi each way (1/5 – 8 places) – 100/1
  

After a one-week break due to the US Open, the DP World Tour is back in action in Germany this week, for the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried.

Tournament History

The BMW International Open debuted on the DPWT in 1989 here at Eichenried, where Northern Ireland’s David Feherty beat Fred Couples by five strokes; a winning margin that is still the record in the event.

Over the event’s 33-year history, Eichenried has been the predominant home, hosting all bar seven renewals. With St. Eurach Land-und-Golfclub hosting from 1994-1996 and Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof hosting in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Following victories in 1990 and 1992, American Paul Azinger became the first two-time winner of the tournament, a record he has since seen equalled by Thomas Bjorn (2000, 2002), Pablo Larrazabal (2011, 2015) and Henrik Stenson (2006, 2016).

Stenson is one of seven former major winners to win here. Others including Sandy Lyle (1990), Ernie Els (2013) and John Daly (2001); Daly’s winning score of -27 a record in the event. Whilst other legends of the DPWT, such as Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Lee Westwood have also claimed this title.

China’s Li Haotong is our reigning champion this week, a year on from besting Belgium’s Thomas Pieters in a playoff, in which he holed an incredible 40-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole. Though wildly out of form since, he’ll be hoping to put up a strong defence of the title and become the first player ever, to defend this title.

The Course

Golfclub Munchen Eichenried is a 7284-yard par 72, designed by German architect, Kurt Rossknecht and is all about playability.

The tree-lined course is littered with scoring opportunities. All coming in at under 570 yards, the par 5s should be reachable for most, whilst there are two potentially drivable par 4s: the 331-yard 5^th and the 319-yard 16^th. The three 200+ yard par 3s and a couple of lengthier 480+ yard par 4s providing us with a handful of tougher holes.

Ultimately, you can create plenty of chances to score heavily, with the event possessing an average winning score of a little under -18 over the last ten renewals and ranking as the 7^th-easiest course to make birdies on over the last four years.

Everything here is relatively simple. Though there are a few narrower fairways, they are largely generous and there’s a dearth of severe doglegging holes to ask you enough questions off the tee, whilst the rough and fairway bunkering isn’t overly penal.

The greens are relatively large, with just mild undulations and pretty easy to find, again lacking in severe penalty for missing them; with the biggest danger around the course coming in the shape of water, which is in-play on six holes, including over the closing three; generating an exciting finish.

There is just not enough to punish you around here if weather is benign. If you’re in control of the long game, you should be making countless makable birdie chances throughout the event.

The Stats

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting
• SG: Off-the-Tee
• Driving Distance
• SG: Approach
• Birdie Average
• Par 5 Scoring

As with many birdie-heavy events, a hot putter has proven vital over the most recent renewals, whilst even historically, strong putters have thrived here.

Last year’s top 4 all ranked 12^th or better on the greens, with Sami Valimaki in 4^th going particularly well, ranking 1^st. Go back to 2021 to find Viktor Hovland leading the field on the greens when winning (Kaymer in 2^nd ranking 8^th and Dubuisson in 4^th ranking 6th), whilst in 2019, Andrea Pavan was the 7^th-best putter in the field.

Andres Romero, Pablo Larrazabal and David Horsey are just three past champions pre-strokes gained data on the DPWT, who are excellent with putter in hand.

Though the course is short enough that more accuracy-dependant players can go well here, there is no doubt that quality, long driving has proven beneficial here, with countless holes tempting you into pulling the club out of the bag with little concern.

The top 4 from last year of Li Haotong, Thomas Pieters, Ryan Fox and Sami Valimaki was very power-heavy, whilst three of them ranked 13^th or better off-the-tee: Li, ranking 13^th, Pieters ranking 3^rd and Fox 7^th.

2021 winner, Viktor Hovland, is an excellent driver – and long – ranking 12^th the week he won; other past winners such as Andres Romero and Ernie Els players not lacking in length.

As you’d expect with a low-scoring contest. Nobody has won here in recent years without at least solid approach play. Li was 12^th with his irons when winning last year, whilst Hovland was 23^rd in 2021 (runner-up Martin Kaymer, ranking 1^st) and both of the top 2 from 2019 ranked top 20 in approach; Andrea Pavan 11^th and Matt Fitzpatrick 17^th.

Additionally, with that high birdie rate, those heaviest scorers should be favoured and with how easy the par 5s are to get at, players who excel most on those longer holes will also have an advantage.

Correlating Events (Courses)

Abu Dhabi Championship (Abu Dhabi Golf Club)

Some of the stronger form-ties I came across this week lay with Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which hosted the Abu Dhabi Championship up to and including 2021. It’s another course where strong drivers have thrived, possessing similar averages in greens-in-regulation, short-game difficulty and bogey averages to Eichenried.

Martin Kaymer, Pablo Larrazabal and Lee Westwood have each won at both venues. Thomas Pieters and Matt Fitzpatrick have finished 2^nd at both; Rafa Cabrera Bello has multiple top 5s there to go with a strong record here, including a 3^rd-place finish; whilst Victor Dubuisson and Kiradech Aphibarnrat have finished 4^th across the two events.

Open de France (Le Golf National)

Le Golf National compares closely to this week’s course from a ball-striking point of view, possessing similar averages in driving accuracy and GIR percentages; resulting in it developing some strong form-ties to the BMW International.

Pablo Larrazabal, Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez are among the more recent players to win both events. Cabrera Bello has two top 5s there; all of last year’s top 3 here have each finished top 10 in France; as have Jorge Campillo and Thomas Detry.

Made in Himmerland (Himmerland Resort)

Whilst a little more demanding off-the-tee, Himmerland resort possesses almost identical averages to Eichenried in GIR, short-game difficulty and birdie averages. Leading to the development of some attractive form-ties.

David Horsey has won at both courses, whilst last year’s runner-up in Germany, Thomas Pieters is another Himmerland winner. Larrazabal has finished top 5 there, as has Richard Bland, who was 2^nd in 2017; Romain Langasque with top 5s at both.

Omega European Masters (Crans-sur-Sierre)

Crans ranks closely to Eichenried in most areas, from driving accuracy percentages to scrambling difficulty. As courses with an abundance of risk/reward chances, there have historically been lots of form-ties between the two events.

Over the years we’ve seen the likes of Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Bjorn pick up wins in the two events. Whilst more recently, 2019 BMW International runner-up, Matt Fitzpatrick has won at Crans twice.

Andres Romero has a 2^nd at Crans; Jorge Campillo, Victor Dubuisson and Richard Bland have all recorded top 5s.

The Weather

We’re set for a very stormy start to proceedings in Germany, with thunderstorms predicted on the Wednesday before and carrying over into Thursday and Friday. Bringing with it plenty of rain that will soften the course up.

It all clears up for the weekend; with temperatures lower and with a lack of wind, the course should be incredibly receptive and scorable for the final two rounds.

The Field

We have a strong DPWT field in attendance this week, with Adrian Meronk the top-ranked player at #50 in the world; joined by a further three from inside the top 100: #54 Pablo Larrazabal, #64 Victor Perez and #99 Yannik Paul. Other quality DPWT performers such as Rasmus Hojgaard, Robert MacIntyre and Jorge Campillo also entered into this week’s field.

In addition former #1 amateur Takumi Kanaya makes his first start in Europe since the Dunhill Links in October of last year, arriving in good form with consecutive finishes of 2^nd, 1^st and 3^rd back in Japan.

Selections

This event has a typically open look to it, with Adrian Meronk a 14/1 favourite and followed by Rasmus Hojgaard at 16s.

Both are entitled to plenty of respect, but nobody appealed more to me this week than France’s Romain Langasque, who goes in as the headline selection.

1.75 pts Romain Langasque each way (1/5 – 6 places)

The Frenchman has been in fine form this year, missing just two of thirteen cuts and recording seven top 25s. Most of his better performances have come over his last seven starts, where he’s made every cut and recorded three top 10s, the best of which was a 2^nd-place finish in Italy and arrives in Germany off the back of a solid 54^th in last week’s US Open.

Langasque has been hitting the ball very well this year, ranking 29^th in approach and 31^st off-the-tee. Additionally, at 24^th in driving distance he’s one of the longer hitters on tour. We saw his driving prowess on show in Los Angeles, as he ranked 12^th OTT there at LACC.

As the 4^th ranked par 5 scorer on tour and top 50 in birdie average, he looks an ideal type for Golfclub Munchen Eichenried.

We saw evidence of his suitability to this test last year, as Langasque finished 5^th; a result engineered by an excellent tee-to-green performance, as he ranked 3^rd. His 3^rd at Himmerland in 2019 is also a positive in relation to his chances here, as is a 7^th at Crans in 2016; top 20s in France and Abu Dhabi providing further encouragement.

Langasque has continually threatened to notch DPWT win #2 over the last two years and I believe this will be the week he finally breaks that door down in Germany.

1.25 pts Richard Mansell each way (1/5 – 8 places)

Richard Mansell’s power-packed ball-striking game is ideally suited to this week’s venue and though his form hasn’t quite reached the level of last year, it’s been ticking over nicely; leaving him ready to pounce for that breakthrough win this week.

At this point last year, Mansell had already recorded three top 10s on the DPWT, with the best coming here in Germany when 3^rd in the European Open.

In comparison, this year he has just the one top 10, when 6^th in the Singapore Classic; however, he’s only missed one cut in eleven starts and is hitting the ball well, ranking 5^th in approach and 37^th OTT.

The putter has been the concern and sees him rank 149^th on the DPWT, but there were positive signs two starts ago in the Scandinavian Mixed in this regard and despite the poor putting this year, he still manages to rank 7^th in birdie average and 31^st in par 5 scoring. Showing he not only has the ball-striking ability but also the scoring ability to tackle this test.

Mansell has been solid enough in previous visits here, finishing 37^th on debut in 2021 and was 63^rd last year, though is more than capable of better, particularly if his 3^rd at Crans last year is anything to by. He can match and hopefully better than performance this week if able to reproduce a similar putting display to what we saw in Sweden.

1 pt Kiradech Aphibarnrat each way (1/5 – 7 places)

With form figures in the BMW International Open that read 4^th and 12^th, as well as recent form figures including 5^th and 15^th-place finishes over his last three starts, Kiradech Aphibarnrat was automatically on the radar this week. When we combine this with the quality approach play he’s been producing on the DPWT this season, there is a very strong case to be made for the likeable Thai’s chances in Germany.

After completely losing his playing privileges on the PGA Tour last season, Kiradech opted to try out for DPWT Q-School at the end of last year; with an excellent 4^th-place finish in that marathon six-round event earning him a full return back to the tour.

He started 2023 splitting his time between the DPWT and Asian Tour, with a couple of strong efforts out in the Far East when 9^th in the World City Championship and 12^th in the International Series Thailand; both events on the Asian Tour.

Three missed cuts followed when he returned to DPWT action, though he turned his form around with an excellent 15^th-place finish in the Soudal Open and then produced his best finish of the year when 5^th in the KLM Open on his next start.

It’s the irons that have been doing all of the heavy lifting this season, as he ranks 18^th on tour in approach; however, there have been some positive performances with the putter over recent starts, as he gained strokes both in Italy and the Netherlands.

I’m hoping he can carry that over into this week, where his record speaks for itself; recording a 4^th on debut in 2015 and returned two years later to finish 12^th.

A 4^th in Abu Dhabi is another boost, whilst a top 20 in the European Masters offers further promise. If he can continue to hit his irons as well as he has all season and keep up the recent upturn in form on the greens, he can earn a fifth DPWT title and first since 2018.

1 pt Sebastian Soderberg each way (1/5 – 8 places)

Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg has found some consistency over recent weeks, which he can turn into a contending performance this week, at a course he looks well-suited to.

Despite his best finish of the year coming when 2^nd in Abu Dhabi, Soderberg followed that with four missed cuts on the spin. However, since breaking that run when 9^th in the Jonsson Workwear Open, he’s gone on to miss just one of his last six cuts, recording another top 10 in Italy three starts ago and comes into this week off the back of a 27^th in Sweden last-time-out.

Soderberg has been hitting the ball solidly enough this season, gaining strokes overall both OTT and in approach, but it’s the quality of his scoring that appealed most here; ranking 7^th in par 5 scoring and 24^th in birdie average. Which should serve him well this week.

He put that scoring ability to good use here in 2019 when 14^th and though recording missed cuts either side of that, I’m further encouraged as to his chances here when looking at his solo DPWT win to date, which came in 2019 in the European Masters.

The Swede has recorded four 2^nd-place finishes since that win, showing he very much has what it takes to add to that solo title and he can make a strong play in doing just that this week.

1 pt Guido Migliozzi each way (1/5 – 8 places)

I’m going to finish this week by taking a punt on the enigmatic Guido Migliozzi, who looks every bit the correct “type” for this challenge.

It’s been a typically up-and-down year for the Italian. A 20^th in Abu Dhabi on his first start of the year offered promise, though he followed that with four missed cuts. Two consecutive top 25s in Asia suggested that the three-time DPWT winner was back on track, though since returning to Europe he’s finished 57^th in Italy and recorded missed cuts in the Netherlands and last-time-out in the Porsche European Open.

What has been encouraging for this test in the midst of the struggle for consistency, is that Migliozzi has driven the ball very well this year, ranking 24^th and is a player not short on power.

Whilst there is little to shout about in the rest of his game overall, Migliozzi’s unpredictability means that he’s liable to find form without notice. We saw it prior to his fabulous win in France last year, as he’d only recently arrested a terrible run of form in approach to win there and he’s a player that can get hot in an instant.

Though he missed the cut here on his only previous visit, the relative simplicity of this course should suit his sometimes erratic, occasionally sensational ball-striking game. In addition, correlating form is as attractive as anyone’s, not just due to his win in France last year but a 2^nd at Himmerland is another positive, as is his 7^th at Crans.

He absolutely comes with risks, and I would not be surprised at anything Migliozzi does this week, whether he misses the cut by five or routs the field. But with his aggressive nature, coupled with his natural winning ability, he looks a risk worth taking at this price and around this setup this week.