Pablo Larrazábal won the 2015 BMW International Open with a score of 17 under par (271 shots). A high-quality final round saw the Spaniard produce the second-lowest round of the day (six under) to fend off an inspired late surge from world number seven Henrik Stenson (-16, 272, seven under for the day).
Like last year, when he lost out to Fabrizio Zanotti on the fifth hole of a play-off, the Swede once again came within a whisker of winning his second BMW International Open, having previously triumphed in 2006. In contrast, Larrazábal can now call himself a two-time winner at Golfclub München Eichenried, adding a second title to the one he won in spectacular fashion in a remarkable all-Spanish play-off against Sergio García in 2011.
Victory in Munich is the fourth on the European Tour for the 32-year-old. Larrazábal now takes his place among a very select group: in the 27-year history of the BMW International Open, only Paul Azinger (USA, 1990 & 1992) and Thomas Bjorn (Denmark, 2000 & 2002) had previously won the iconic German tournament more than once. Third place, behind Larrazábal and Stenson, went to 29-year-old Englishman Chris Paisley (-15, 273). Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen (South Africa) ended the tournament a further shot back in a tie for fourth place.
Dr. Friedrich Eichiner, Member of the Board of Management BMW AG, Finance, said: “Congratulations to Pablo Larrazábal on his victory at the 2015 BMW International Open. Over the course of the past four days, Pablo has thrilled golf fans here in Munich with an impressive display of golf, and is the worthy winner. Record crowds of 65,300 spectators at this week’s BMW International Open have shown once again that golf is hugely popular in Germany, and that our long partnership working closely with the European Tour is bearing fruit. That is not only true here on the outskirts of Munich, but all over the world. I would like to thank George O’Grady, the out-going CEO of the European Tour, with whom we have enjoyed a very trusting and successful relationship for many years.”
“Thank you, BMW. The company does so much for our sport – not just here in Munich,” said Larrazábal at the presentation ceremony. “Winning here for the second time is a dream. Munich is my second home. Thank you very much to the spectators, who gave me fantastic support – even though I am not German. The atmosphere was definitely one of the reasons I made one or two birdies more.”
The departure of two-time major winner Martin Kaymer after missing the cut on Friday left five Germans in the field on the weekend. The best of the home-grown players after 72 holes was Marcel Schneider (279, -9) in 20th place. “I find it a big motivation to play in front of so many people. I feel as though it helps me to play better. It is great fun,” said Schneider. 18,000 spectators lined the fairways at Golfclub München Eichenried on Sunday alone.
BMW Golfsport Ambassador Max Kieffer (281, -7) finished tied in 29th place, and was also impressed by the atmosphere: “We had a fantastic atmosphere on every day of the tournament, even when it rained on Saturday. We German golfers generally played very well, but unfortunately were not in contention come the end of the tournament. Despite this, there was an extremely large number of spectators out on the course.”
Florian Fritsch (282, -6) finished tied in 40th, Marcel Siem (283, -5) T47, and Anton Kirstein (285, -3) in a group of three players in 55th place.
