Fabrizio Zanotti will launch the defence of his BMW International Open crown alongside Dutchman Joost Luiten and France’s Raphael Jacquelin when play gets under way at Golfclub München Eichenried on Thursday.
Zanotti became the first Paraguayan to win on The European Tour after coming up trumps following a four-man play-off in Cologne 12 months ago and begins his campaign for second title at 1350 local time in the company of Luiten and Jacquelin, who together have amassed eight titles on the top tier of European golf.
Elsewhere, home favourite Martin Kaymer returns to European shores one week on from handing back the US Open trophy in Seattle, with the German set to tee off at 0840 alongside the 2014 joint runner-up Henrik Stenson and Shane Lowry, who finished tied ninth last week at Chambers Bay.
Another of last year’s runners-up, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, will be looking to continue the good form that has seen him finish second, tied 13th and tied fourth in his last three starts on The European Tour, and he gets going at 1320 alongside 2005 winner David Howell and two-time Major Champion Retief Goosen.
Lyoness Open winner Chris Wood tees it up at 1340 with another German-speaking favourite in the form of Bernd Wiesberger in a threeball completed by Irish Open champion Søren Kjeldsen, while Ryder Cup team-mates Thomas Bjørn and Victor Dubuisson are joined from 1330 with native up-and-comer Maximilian Kieffer.
Marcel Siem, who won the BMW Masters last November, is off at 0830 with Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee and England’s Tommy Fleetwood, while Colombian star Camilo Villegas has Ross Fisher and 1997 champion Robert Karlsson for company over the first two days in München.
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