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Tournament Preview
Daniel Brown is hoping to become the first player to successfully defend the BMW International Open title when he tees it up at Golfclub München Eichenried this week.
The 31-year-old carded a flawless final round of 66 to reach 22 under par and win by two shots in Munich last year, before going on to secure dual-membership with the PGA TOUR for 2026.
Brown is making just his second regular DP World Tour start of the season, having missed six of his last eight cuts in the USA, but he does not feel his game is too far away and is relishing the chance to feature on the Race to Dubai again.
The Englishman will be joined by other past champions Martin Kaymer, Pablo Larrazábal, Danny Willett, Fabrizio Zanotti, Thriston Lawrence and Ewen Ferguson in Germany.
They will face fierce competition from Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, who will be keen to extend his advantage at the top of the Rankings. The 35-year-old enjoyed a sensational start to the season, winning his first Rolex Series event at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January, following it up with a second-place finish in Bahrain and victory at the Qatar Masters.
Eugenio Chacarra currently leads the European Swing Rankings, and he is looking to create his own piece of history with a third consecutive DP World Tour victory following back-to-back wins in the Netherlands and Italy.
Since the inception of the DP World Tour in 1972, only two players have ever won three DP World Tour events on the bounce: Sir Nick Faldo and the late, great Seve Ballesteros in 1983 and 1986 respectively.
Matti Schmid leads the home charge this week and is enjoying a standout 2026 season, currently sitting in 80th position on the Official World Golf Ranking after finishing in a share of fourth at the PGA Championship earlier this year. The 2021 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Kaymer and become just the second player from Germany to win the BMW International Open.
Social Media sensation Brad Dalke, whose golf videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have been viewed millions of times worldwide, will make his DP World Tour debut this week. In 2016, he reached the final of the U.S. Amateur Championship and earned a spot at the 2017 Masters. Also in 2017, he played a key role in helping the University of Oklahoma’s college team win the NCAA National Championship.
The top five, not otherwise exempt, from the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World (within the top 20) come close of play on Sunday will earn a spot into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. Jayden Schaper, Andy Sullivan, Dan Bradbury, Oliver Lindell and Mikael Lindberg are currently in position to capitalise on this exemption.
Player Quotes
Daniel Brown: It’s nice but it’s obviously strange because I haven’t played a DP World Tour event since Mauritius so it’s nice to be back on the DP World Tour and nice to be back as a defending champion which I haven’t done before.
There’s not many times in your career where you can come back and defend. It’s not something you get to do very often. I’ve been in America and I don’t feel like I’ve played badly but results haven’t been what I’ve wanted them to be.
It was nice coming down yesterday afternoon and seeing a few familiar faces. This Tour is a little bit more friendly. The Americans sort of keep to themselves and it’s nice. I like the social aspect, I’m quite a sociable person.
I think I drove it really well last year and I was missing it in the right areas all the time. Then obviously I putted nicely. Any week you win, your game is going to be pretty good all round so I would say there wasn’t really a weakness last year, but I drove it really well.
With what happened last year, losing a friend, he passed away a year ago on Sunday. So I’ve looked back at videos and had a few teary eyes every now and again.
But I suppose as a golfer, you’re so busy, it’s non-stop, you’re two, three, four weeks on and then you only get one or two weeks off in between so it’s very much business most of the time. You’re just trying to do your job, you’re trying to get here and prepare and not forget about last year but put that to the back of your mind and do the best you can this week.
Patrick Reed: With this golf tournament being around for 37 years, you can definitely feel not only the history behind the golf course and the tournament, but you also feel it through the people you run across as well as the venue and just the excitement around the town.
It’s been an amazing city for the first two years I came and then this year already just walked around yesterday and people were wanting to talk with me and things like that but I felt like yesterday they were a little more focused on the bigger match that was going on.
The crowds have been amazing here. They really get behind the tournament and the sponsors and everyone part of this event make this event really special. And it was one of my first events my daughter came to with me. So she actually absolutely loved coming into Munich last year and spending time with myself and my wife, which was amazing. And so there’s a lot of memories here. So hopefully this year we can go out and play well and make some more memories.
My position in the Race to Dubai doesn’t change really my mindset or anything going in. If anything, it just gives me a little more confidence going in that week that we’re obviously, you know, been playing some really solid golf this year. And I think that’s the biggest thing is coming in this week, and every week I come out and play, is everyone starts at zero. You start it fresh. Rankings don’t mean anything. It’s about going and trying to win each day and win the golf tournament. And if you do that more times than not, and at the end of the day, it’ll add up to itself.
Matti Schmid: I think my whole golf club is going to come and support this week. I know a lot of people here and I hope it’s going to be a good atmosphere.
I actually didn’t hit it that good here last year. I know I putted really nice, so hopefully this year I can combine the two things a bit better. But other than that, last year the crowds were amazing and hopefully we can have more of that.
The PGA Championship was obviously great. After that it slowed down a little bit but that was mainly because of the flat stick. The long game was always pretty solid. I know these greens quite well, I’ve practiced quite a bit, so hopefully we can turn things around again.
This golf course is really a risk and reward. I think we have a drivable par four and a couple of par fives with water everywhere. They are reachable, but danger is around. If you want to win here you have to historically take it pretty low, so you need to take on some risks and hopefully it pays off.
This tournament has always been a big one, and I think it’s a big one on the DP World Tour schedule. BMW does such a fantastic tournament with the hospitality and the village here. I think the fans really enjoy this tournament, and that’s why they come out, and hopefully a lot of Germans can show up this weekend and do them a favour.
Marco Penge: I’m feeling a lot better than when I kind of stopped playing. I wouldn’t say I’m 100% but definitely 90% of the way there. So at least I kind of know what was going on and I’ve kind of got some things in place if I start to feel a little worse again. I’m happy to be back.
It’s hard to have expectations because I don’t really know where my game is at. But after playing today, I was really impressed with myself and really pleased with how I played.
I feel like it’s probably the best I’ve played all year and the most comfortable I’ve felt all year. I could come out and be up there in contention, but I’m fully aware that it could also go the other way. I feel like this week’s actually the first week where I’ve kind of been able to realise what I actually achieved last year from just more from like a reception from the players standpoint in terms of being back here on the DP World Tour.
We have a great run of events coming up. Probably one of the best kind of stretches on the DP World Tour in my opinion before the back nine. For me, Birkdale being fairly local to home, just being back in Europe and playing in front of crowds that kind of know who you are is going to be quite nice. And just being back and seeing all the players over here and play on the Tour that I call my home in a way.
Venue: Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany
2025 Champion: Daniel Brown (ENG)
Prize Fund: $3,000,000
Race to Dubai: Tournament 25 of 42
European Swing: Tournament 6 of 6
Race to Dubai Points: 3,500
