Dutchman Joost Luiten wins the KLM Open in the Netherlands. Francesco Molinari lands the Italian Open. So surely Martin Kaymer captures this week’s Porsche European Open in Germany, right?
Kaymer will bid to give the European Tour a third straight home-soil winner at a venue which returned to the circuit last year, the Beckenbauer GC at the huge Hartl resort in Bad Griesbach.
The course name offers a clue to the location. Bad Griesbach is in Bavaria where Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as both player and manager, was a legend at the region’s iconic football team, Bayern Munich.
The course was co-designed by another German sporting legend, Bernard Langer, and threw up a winning score of 17-under last year as Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee edged out England’s Graeme Storm by a shot.
Langer finished as the top German player 12 months ago but sits it out this time.
With the Ryder Cup taking place in the United States this time, it’s understandable that not too many of Darren Clarke’s men will be teeing it up in an event on European soil the week before.
There are just two, Kaymer being joined by Belgian Thomas Pieters. Padraig Harrington, one of European skipper Darren Clarke’s vice-captains, is also in the field along with fellow multi-major winner Ernie Els.
This is the second time the European Tour has stopped in Germany in 2016. The first was June’s BMW International Open at Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof where Henrik Stenson scored a three-shot win over Darren Fichardt and Thorbjorn Olesen.
The course
One of six courses at the huge Hartl resort, the Beckenbauer is considered the hardest although its flat and the fairways are quite generous. The 7,188-yard par 71 has its par 5s at the 3rd (625 yards), 8th (578 yards) and 12th (566 yards). The 18th is a long and tough 468-yard par 4 which played to 4.5 in the second round last year. Langer shared design duties with Kurt Rossknecht and their course opened in 2002. It’s set on the flood plain of the River Rott and water is in play on many holes. The Beckenbauer staged the AEGEAN Airlines Challenge on the Challenge Tour from 2013-2015 and produced winning scores of -15, -13 and -19 so Jaidee’s -17 last year fell within expectations.
2015 Top 4 and Stats
-17 Thongchai Jaidee (DD 75th, DA 45th, GIR 17th, PA 25th)
-16 Graeme Storm (DD 17th, DA 1st, GIR 1st, PA 26th)
-14 Pelle Edberg (DD 6th, DA 45th, GIR 30th, PA 2nd)
-13 Scott Hend (DD 3rd, DA 41st, GIR 56th, PA 3rd)
Notes: There’s not an awful lot to go on there but looking further down the leaderboard shows that 5 of the leading 8 finishers were in the top 11 for Driving Distance. The top three in Putting Average also finished in the top 8 so big hitters who putt well could be the ones to look for.
The Weather
After a week of disruptive weather in Italy, conditions look set fair this week. The forecast shows sunshine and friendly white clouds all four days with temperatures peaking at 70 degrees on Sunday. Winds are very light too so expect scoring to be good.
The Leading Contenders
After being unable to defend his KLM Open title two weeks ago after suffering an allergic reaction to a bee sting and pulling out on the eve of the tournament, Pieters gets this final chance to sharpen up ahead of his Ryder Cup debut. His current form reads 1-2-4 (a huge reason for his captain’s pick) so, as long as he avoids insects, Pieters must have another big chance. He’s only teed it up twice in Germany before with results of WD and MC but expect that to change on a course that looks a perfect fit for his big hitting and current hot putter.
After the successes for Joost Luiten (Netherlands) and Francesco Molinari (Italy) in the last two weeks, Kaymer will want a piece of his own home-soil success. He managed that at the 2008 BMW International Open at nearby Munchen Nord-Eichenried but has actually missed the cut in three of his last four starts in Germany. The Ryder Cup will clearly be on his mind but he returns home from last week’s Italian Open (T20) on the back of a sixth top 20 in his last seven starts so would be an obvious winner this week.
It’s a short hop from southern Germany to Austria so Wiesberger should have plenty of support too. At 27th on the Race to Dubai, he’s somewhat down on last year’s 9th place but he did boost his earnings by 200,000 Euros with solo second place in the KLM Open on his last start. In his last five appearances in Germany, Wiesberger has a T7 at this year’s BMW International Open at Gut Larchenhof and T4 in the same tournament when it was held at Munchen Nord-Eichenried in 2013. 13th in GIR this year but outside the top 130 in both putting categories.
The 54-hole leader at both the European Masters and KLM Open (he finished second and fourth respectively), Hend took a backward step in Italy last week and missed the cut after a 74 in round two. Don’t be surprised if he finds a groove again here after closing with a 65 to grab solo fourth 12 months ago. Hend has five top six finishes on the European Tour this year and, like Pieters, his ability to smash the ball off the tee and hole putts looks a good recipe for this week’s venue.
Alejandro Canizares
One of the tournament’s form horses after taking his top-10 count for the season to five with T4 at the KLM Open and T7 at the Italian Open in the last two weeks. Also T24 in Switzerland, he’s 34-under for his last 12 rounds. The Spaniard, now 50th on the Race to Dubai, shot a Sunday 64 here last year to sneak into the top 25.
Jaidee was the man here last year as he shot 68-68-64-67 to secure victory by a shot. Also a winner of July’s Open de France, the Thai’s last three European Tour wins have all come in continental Europe so he seems more effective there than when it visits his native Asia. He’s particularly strong in Germany (a win and three other top 11s in his last six starts) although a cold putter has led to missed cuts at the KLM Open and Italian Open in the last two weeks.
The experienced Bland has had a number of chances this season to post a first European Tour win but continues to come up short. However, he’s piecing together a very profitable campaign and playing the most consistent golf of his career. 12 of his last 13 rounds have been in the 60s and that’s led to current form of 5-13-5. Adding to his appeal is a T9 at this course last year (65-70-71-67).
The American didn’t make the FedExCup playoffs but did end his 2016 campaign with back-to-back top 10s at the John Deere Classic (T8) and Wyndham Championship (T10). The University of Alabama product hits it long so could be one to watch on his debut on German soil although, of course, he’s not available for the European Tour Fantasy game.
The Swede made a stout defense of his Italian Open crown last week, topping the leaderboard after round one with a 64 and eventually posting T12. That represented a first top 15 since he posted four top 10s in five starts between May and June. Gamers will have a good look at him here as Karlberg shot 66-67 on the weekend last year to share fifth spot.
There’s so much potential with Fleetwood that he’s been driving himself and his backers mad for much of this season with a string of poor displays. But, it looks to be changing now. A T16 in the Czech Masters hinted at a corner being turned and he’s now connected top 10s at the KLM Open (T10) and Italian Open (T7) in the last two weeks. He was 1st for GIR in the latter and his putting looked a little better. Fleetwood missed the cut here last year but did shoot a 68 on day one.
The Next Rung
With a 63 in the delayed third round, Levy jumped to the top of the leaderboard in Italy last week before settling for T7 after a flat finish. Still, that represented a first top 10 since April and the Frenchman believes he’s coming back to his best after losing his way a little since a two-win season in 2014. Only T55 at this course last year but he did post a top three in Germany at the 2013 BMW International Open.
The Belgian showed glimpses of his best in this event year, shooting a 66 in round two, but had to settle for T51 after a disappointing weekend. It’s a similar story of late with Colsaerts hinting at something good without seeing it through. He’s made five of his last six cuts but not managed a top 20 along the way so it’s now over two months since the latest of his three top 3 finishes in 2016. For whatever reason, his record in Germany is terrible with 10 missed cuts out of 17 and one finish (T20) better than T39.
Although he missed the cut here last year (67-73), Horsey is very much in the crosshairs. The Englishman was T7 at the BMW International Open on his last trip to Germany in June and returns after connecting top fives at the KLM Open and Italian Open on his latest two starts. With his putter hot, Horsey could make another big impact.
Slowly but surely, Bjerregaard is playing himself back to form and he’s improved his finish – MC-63-49-28-20 – in each of the last four starts. Last week’s top 20 in Italy was achieved with a final 36 holes of 68-66 so the Dane has momentum coming to a venue where he shot a quartet of 68s to post T5 last year.
Dredge is a two-time runner-up on the European Tour this season and the second of those came in Denmark at the end of August. It’s helped him take a spot in the top 25 of Race to Dubai. He’s had a sticky couple of weeks with missed cuts at the KLM and Italian Opens but shot a second-round 68 at the latter so could be ready to crank it up again. The Welshman was T36 here last year.
On first glance, the South African doesn’t jump out given that he missed the cut in Italy and withdrew after 18 holes here last year. But prior to his halfway exit in Monza, Van Zyl had made the top six in Denmark with three excellent rounds and a poor one (67-75-66-65) and cracked the top 20 in the Czech Masters. Still looking for his first European Tour win.
Fisher has his name on this trophy although it came when the tournament was held on his home English soil at the London Club in 2008. That said, he also made the top five at this week’s venue last year after leading at halfway. A five-time winner on the European Tour (2014 Tshwane Open the most recent), he’s currently being held back by poor putting. Fisher was 2nd for GIR at the KLM Open but could only manage T45, his eighth straight finish outside the top 20.
A top 10 in Italy last week (T7, 68-68-66-67) gives Campillo appeal, especially as it adds to T24 in the previous week’s KLM Open. Also T8 in the Scottish Open in July, the Spaniard is a solid 40th on the Race to Dubai and in position to reach the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai for the first time. The downside is a poor record in Germany which includes MC (73-75) in this event last year.
Pablo Larrazabal
Two of his four European Tour wins have come in Germany – the 2011 and 2015 BMW International Opens – while his last eight results in the country show a further three top 10s. Unfortunately, none of those came at this week’s venue where he missed the cut 12 months ago. Larrazabal also went home after two rounds in Italy last week but before that was T20 in the KLM and T7 in Switzerland.
His run of consistent form ended with a missed cut in Italy last week but the Paraguayan was due a dip having not had the weekend off since May. His one European Tour win came on German soil when he landed the 2014 BMW International Open so that should spark some positive thoughts. At this course last year he posted T48 after dropping down the field with a Sunday 73.
Lipsky started well here last year but followed an opening 66 with a 76 to miss the cut. A final-round 67 game him T28 on his most recent trip to Germany (June’s BMW International Open) and he shot four more rounds in the 60s when T16 in Italy last time. That followed solo sixth at the Czech Masters and T3 at the Made In Denmark so he’s been a consistent performer during this low-key stretch on the European Tour schedule.
Hanson is worth a check on current form alone after connecting three top 20s (20-8-18) but he has a spot of interesting course form too having taken T3 at this venue in his Challenge Tour days. He tends to hold his form well so don’t be surprised to see his name high on the leaderboard again.
Sleepers
Max Kieffer
After being a cut-making machine last season, Kieffer missed his sixth in nine starts when crashing out with a second-round 77 in Italy last week. But a return to home soil makes him worth a look and he opened with a pair of 68s here last year to be in the top 15 at halfway before sliding to T48. Despite his recent inconsistency, he does have two top fives this season (Paul Lawrie Match Play and Irish Open).
The Englishman provides a couple of interesting leads this week. Firstly, he produced his best display of the season to finish T3 in Italy on Sunday having led at halfway. Secondly, Paisley was also third in last year’s BMW International Open in Germany. At this venue, he opened with a 67 before taking T51 last year.
The Portuguese is 125/1 with the bookmakers but perhaps that fails to acknowledge he’s a course winner. That came when the Beckenbauer layout hosted the Challenge Tour’s Aegean Airlines Challenge, an event Gouveia won by four shots last year. He’s missed his last two cuts but took T8 at the Made in Denmark at the end of August.
A mention has to be given to last year’s runner-up after he came up just a shot shy of winner Thongchai Jaidee. Also T9 at the BMW International Open in June, Storm owns another couple of top fives in Germany so it’s a good place to catch him. Not having a great year again but T7 in the Czech Masters shows he can pop up on occasion.
Edberg’s big hitting served him well here last year when solo third and, at 110th on the Race to Dubai (the final slot for those wanting to keep their card), he could do with another strong week. As well as course form and incentive, he made the top 25 at the KLM two weeks ago before missing the cut in Italy last time.
The Aussie southpaw has three T12s in his last seven starts in Germany, the most recent coming here last year following a 65 on day one. Add that to T16 in Italy last week (68-66-68-69) and he could sneak up on the rails.
We have to look closely at Germans given the trend for home-soil wins in Europe of late and Siem at his best would be a contender. But, since a third in China, a shoulder injury has led to a string of poor results although he did manage his first sub-70 round since May in R1 of the Italian Open last week. A 75 to follow meant another missed cut though. Didn’t play here last year but has three top 15s in his last six starts in Germany.
The 30-year-old appreciates playing on home turf more than anyone given his refusal to fly. He cashed in on a manageable journey to Switzerland recently when T7 at the Omega European Masters and also made the top 30 here 12 months ago after a 66, two 69s and a 73.
Bernd Ritthammer
After Kaymer, Ritthammer could well emerge as the best home challenger as the German comes in off a win on the Challenge Tour. That victory at the Irish Challenge was his second on Europe’s second tier in eight starts and he tops the Challenge Tour rankings. Ritthammer missed the cut in this tournament last year (67-73) but did post third spot when this venue hosted the Challenge Tour’s Aegean Airlines Challenge (another Challenge Tour event) in 2014.
Who’s On The Team?
Given the run of home wins in Europe, Martin Kaymer should certainly be at the front of every manager’s thinking.
Scott Hend looks as if he has a second European Tour win of 2016 in him while back-to-form Tommy Fleetwood could throw down a big challenge if his putter behaves.
I’ll reveal my full six-man line-up for the European Tour’s official Fantasy game in Tuesday’s Playing The Tips feature.
One to Swerve
Nicolas Colsaerts has always played poorly in Germany so I’ll take that trend to continue.
