- Englishman puts on the style at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof.
- Local hero Kaymer comes up just short.
- Great Dane Olesen sets tournament record with round of 61.
Cologne. England’s Matt Wallace produced the performance of a
lifetime to claim victory at the 30th BMW International Open at Golf
Club Gut Lärchenhof today – and with it the € 333,330 first prize.
Wallace, who trailed clubhouse leader Thorbjørn Olesen (DEN) by five
strokes with nine holes to play, had a bogey-free round of 65 for a
10-under-par total of 278 and victory by one stroke over Olesen, local
favourite Martin Kaymer, and Mikko Korhonen, of Finland.
“I would like to congratulate Matt Wallace on a fantastic win at the
end of what has been a very dramatic finale. We are delighted that his
name will now be the 30th in the list of players to have won the BMW
International Open,” said Peter van Binsbergen, Senior Vice President
Sales and Marketing BMW Germany.
“The 30th anniversary tournament had everything that has made the BMW
International Open so special over the years. Thank you to the golf
club, the volunteers, the spectators, our partners and the members of
the media for their fantastic support.”
Wallace took the lead with his seventh birdie of the day at the 16th,
allowing himself a little fist pump in celebration, and then closed
out the round with pars at each of the last two holes. In four days,
he had rounds of 73, 69, 71 and 65 and had just four bogeys and a
double bogey in 72 holes which, in testing conditions, was equally as
impressive as his tally of 16 birdies.
“It is brilliant to win here in Germany,” said Wallace, the winner of
the Indian Open earlier this season. “The BMW International Open is
such a great event and to play against the likes of Martin Kaymer and
the guys at the top is great. I’ve worked hard for this and want to go
further. I want to kick on and do this in even bigger events from now on.”
Kaymer, carrying the hopes of the fans and his nation with him, was
one behind with two to play but saw his chances disappear with a bogey
at the penultimate hole. A birdie at the last was mere consolation.
“Unfortunately, the bogey at the 17th came at the wrong time. It’s
always nice to win in your own country, but I just came up short,”
Kaymer said.
The final day got off to a flying start from the moment Olesen fired
the lowest round in the history of the tournament and then sat back to
see who could catch him. The Dane started the day seven strokes behind
the leaders, but a sensational bogey-free round of 61 that included
nine birdies and an eagle gave him a lead of three strokes over the
field before the final group had even teed off. In the end, however,
his lead was not quite enough.
There was disappointment, too, for Germany’s Max Kieffer, BMW Friend
of the Brand, who started the day in a share of the lead but was
unable to sustain the momentum of the previous days. Even so, he
claimed a top-12 finish that should boost his confidence for the
season that lies ahead.
“Starting with a double bogey knocked me out of my rhythm a little.
That was obviously a disastrous way to start, but it was really cool
and good fun to play with Martin. We both had great support from the
spectators, even after poor shots.”
Among the highlights of the week was Aaron Rai’s hole in one at the
par-three 16th in the second round that won him a stunning BMW i8
Roadster. All credit that he managed to keep his focus to finish tied
for fifth. With the tournament over, he can now enjoy the fruits of
his success. As can Matt Wallace – a champion in every sense.
Facts and figures from the 30th BMW International Open.
000.00
2 video walls and 50 screens.
000.00
7 Hole-in-One Awards won across the history of the tournament.
000.0
10 leaderboards and two hole-by-hole scoreboards.
000.0
53 exhibitors present their golf-related products.
000.0
65 BMW shuttle cars.
000.
150 km of TV, electricity and telephone cables.
000.
200 experts making TV broadcasts possible.
000.
250 trucks are unloaded.
000.
500 volunteers offer their services.
00
2,000 seats in the various grandstands.
00
3,500 project professionals ensure everything runs smoothly.
00
5,000 sandwiches are eaten.
00
5,500 parking spaces available.
00
7,200 golf balls are hit by pros on the driving range.
00
9,500 m² of tents are erected for hospitality,
exhibition and work areas.
0
15,000 m² of Public Area.
0
20,000 litres of water are drunk.
0
38,850 golf shots played in roughly 450 rounds of golf.
0
60,000 spectators expected.
230,000 kilometres covered by the BMW Shuttle Service.