Opportunity beckons for several players to make an impression at the BMW International Open after the countdown to this year's Ryder Cup reached the 100-day marker on Wednesday.
This week’s stop on the DP World Tour is the first of ten remaining events in the qualification process for the 2023 European Ryder Cup team that will take on the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy, from September 25 – October 1, 2023.
Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, Pablo Larrazábal – all winners on Tour this season – are in the field as Germany’s longest running professional golf tournament continues at Golfclub München Eichenried.
They are among ten players who have made the swift return to European soil following on from the 123rd U.S. Open.
Yannik Paul, who currently occupies one of the automatic spots from the European Points List, returns to action after missing the third major of the year and will bid to bolster his hopes of a Ryder Cup debut later this year.
European Captain Luke Donald, the former World Number One, and his trio of vice captains are also in action in Germany and will have a keen interest on the performances of several contenders.
With only a few months to go until golf’s greatest team contest, we profile the five leading players on the European Points List who are teeing it up this week looking in from outside of the automatic qualifying spots.
Victor Perez
One of ten players who was in action last week at the U.S. Open, Perez will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back missed cuts at Los Angeles Country Club and Bernardus Golf. Sitting fourth on the European Points List, the Frenchman is also riding high in third place on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. He began his campaign in style by going unbeaten for Continental Europe at the inaugural Hero Cup and then winning his first Rolex Series title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. A top ten at the DS Automobiles Italian Open at the scene of this year’s Ryder Cup has since followed, before back-to-back 69s at the weekend helped him to a tie for 12th at the US PGA Championship. While he has not challenged for the title on his two previous visits to Golfclub München Eichenried in 2018 and 2022, the three-time DP World Tour winner will know a good performance this time around will provide a timely boost of confidence and momentum going into a busy stretch of events leading up to the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
Adrian Meronk
The Pole missed the cut at the U.S. Open by one shot, but it’s been a successful season to date for the 2019 Challenge Tour graduate. Victory at the historic Italian Open last month was his second of the campaign, after winning Down Under at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in December, and third of his career on the DP World Tour. Three further tops tens on Tour mean he is ranked just one spot below Perez on both the Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup rankings. Now a top 50 player on the Official World Golf Ranking, the 30-year-old is combining playing on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR and finished in a tie for 14th in his first event stateside this year at the Honda Classic. This week sees him make his first start at the BMW International Open – could he make his debut a memorable one and be the first player to win three times on Tour this year?
Jorge Campillo
With back-to-back top 15 finishes in his last appearances at the BMW International Open, the Spaniard has shown he has a good liking for this week’s venue. In fact, he has not shot over par since the second round in 2018, albeit he did not play in either 2019 or 2020. While his form in recent weeks has tailed off somewhat, Campillo has created plenty of fond memories so far this year with a run of five consecutive top tens, including his win in Kenya in March. That was his third DP World Tour title and ended a three-year wait since his last. Could another be on the cards this week as he chases a first Ryder Cup appearance at the age of 37?
Pablo Larrazábal
One of three Spaniards in the top ten on the European Points List, Larrazábal is enjoying a renaissance at the age of 40. Two victories in three starts in South Korea and the Netherlands have lifted him to the cusp of a place in the world’s top 50. Now a nine-time winner on Tour, the World Number 54 sits tenth on the Ryder Cup Rankings on the European Points and is seeking to become the first player to win the BMW International Open title three times. He first won the title in 2011 at this week’s venue in a play-off against Sergio Garcia, before repeating the feat four years later as he held off Henrik Stenson. Eighth on the Race to Dubai, confidence couldn’t be much higher, and he will hope to mount another title challenge as he hopes to continue Spain’s rich history in the Ryder Cup by making his first appearance in September.
Rasmus Højgaard
After a two-week break, the Dane will hope to harness some of the positive signs from his play at the KLM Open, where he finished in a tie for third. Already a three-time winner on Tour, the 22-year-old was hindered by a shoulder injury earlier in the year but will hope he can find his best at an important period in the season. On both his past visits to this week’s tournament, Højgaard has made the cut, finishing no worse than a tie for 36th.
Such was his start to life on the DP World Tour so remarkable, becoming the youngest winner in Tour history, that Rasmus has long been tipped as a potential Ryder Cup star of the future. With his twin brother Nicolai holding temporary membership on the PGA TOUR, he will hope to provide a timely reminder of his talent in front of Team Europe Captain Donald.
