Ryder Cup Heroes To Star In Munich
World’s Professionals To Compete in BMW International Open 2019
Together with Team Europe they didn’t give Team USA a chance in the Ryder Cup in September last year, now they will tee off at the BMW International Open in Munich: Sergio García and Thorbjørn Olesen. Martin Kaymer and reigning champion
Matt Wallace of England had already announced their involvement. In addition, the German viewers can look forward to PGA TOUR pro Jhonattan Vegas and a strong local player pool.
During the convincing Ryder Cup Team Europe victory in Paris last September, García made sure his name went down in golfing history. In for matches, the man from Spain got three wins, thereby pushing his overall score up to 25.5 in nine appearances. No other player has picked up more points in the long history of the legendary team
competition, the previous record holder was Sir Nick Faldo of England with 25 points from eleven appearances.
“I can’t wait to return to one of my favourite cities in the world,” said the 2017 Masters champion. “I’m looking forward to the fans in Munich and to the tournament.”
Two years ago, when the BMW International Open was last held in Munich, García finished only one shot behind winner Andrés Romero of Argentina. Thorbjørn Olesen missed out on the title just as narrowly in Cologne in 2018. The Dane played the lowest round ever in the tournament’s 30-year history, with 61 shots, but was defeated by Matt Wallace. As a rookie, the “Thunderbear” contributed a clear 5 & 4 win in the singles against Jordan Spieth of the USA to the European team’s Ryder Cup victory.
Three-time PGA TOUR winner Jhonattan Vegas, who was beaten only by winner Rory Mcilroy and Jim Furyk at the Players Championship, will make his BMW International Open debut. The 34-year-old is the first Venezuelan golfer to win on the PGA TOUR and qualify for the Presidents Cup.
The hunt for the second German BMW International Open victory after Kaymer’s 2008 win will be taken up by numerous other pros in addition to the two-time majors winner. Veteran Alex Cejka and Munich native Stephan Jäger don’t want to miss out on the iconic tournament and will travel in from the USA. Max Kieffer, who with good results on the European Tour demonstrated a clear upward trend in form, will tee off in Munich, as will Florian Fritsch, Bernd Ritthammer und Marcel Siem.