Highlights and facts from 35 years of the BMW International Open.

+++ 35th BMW International Open: A tradition of joy +++ Victories, stars and shots to remember: tournament highlights +++ An overview of the facts & figures +++

Munich. Three and a half decades of world-class golf, sheer driving pleasure, fantastic atmospheres, and an entertaining fringe programme: the BMW International Open at the BMW Group’s home in Munich is an institution in German-speaking countries – and beyond: no other tournament on the DP World Tour has taken place continuously for longer, with the same name and same title partner.

However, BMW is not only title partner, but also the organiser of the BMW International Open – and that is all the more remarkable, as it is not something you come across every day. That was the case when the tournament was held for the first time back in 1989. It was also the BMW Group’s first involvement in professional golf. Ahead of the 35^th BMW International Open (3^rd to 7^th July 2024, Golfclub München Eichenried), we look back at the highlights from across the tournament’s long history.

The winner of the inaugural tournament was Northern Irishman David Feherty. Right from the very first BMW International Open, a Hole-in-One Car has already been up for grabs for the first person to high an ace on a certain par 3. Kicking off this tradition was the BMW 325iX Touring. It did not take long for that car to find a lucky owner: American Jay Townsend won a BMW 325i Cabrio in 1991.

The next premiere for the fledgling tournament came just one year later: Paul Azinger became the first player to win the BMW International Open twice, having previously done so in 1990. To this date, the American remains the record champion, alongside Thomas Bjørn (Denmark, 2000 & 2002), Pablo Larrazábal (Spain, 1991 & 1995) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden, 2006 & 2016).

The players have been striving fruitlessly to break another record for more than two decades: the -27 (261 shots) set by none other than John Daly (USA) in 2001 remains undefeated. In that same year, the Hole-in-One Award was won for the second time: Raphaël Jacquelin from France was delighted to receive the legendary Roadster BMW Z8 – the very model that Pierce Brosnan drove to Hollywood fame in “James Bond 007 – The World Is Not Enough”.

Despite the tournament’s long history, there has only ever been one homegrown winner: in 2008, as the BMW International Open celebrated its 20^th anniversary, Martin Kaymer triumphed in Munich. He was just 23 years and 177 days old at the time, and the two-time major champion remains the youngest winner of the tournament to this day. However, Kaymer is far from the only major winner to have raised the trophy aloft at Germany’s most iconic tournament. Azinger, Sandy Lyle (Scotland, 1991), Daly, Stenson and Ernie Els (South Africa, 2013) complete this list. Other illustrious names to have been engraved on the BMW International Open trophy include Colin Montgomerie (Scotland, 1999), Lee Westwood (2003) and Viktor Hovland (Norway, 2021).

Hovland was also victorious at last year’s BMW Championship on his way to winning the FedExCup on the PGA TOUR. The only other player with two different BMW titles to his name is David Howell (England, BMW International Open 2005 and BMW PGA Championship 2006). As is so often the case, however, one person can trump even that: Miguel Ángel Jiménez. The irrepressible and inimitable Spaniard has three BMW trophies in his cabinet at home: the 2004 BMW International Open, the 2008 BMW PGA Championship, and the 2004 BMW Asian Open, which is no longer played.

The list of players with a BMW Hole-in-One car in their garage was a short one for a while. After Jacquelin in 2001, it took nine years for another player to ace their way to sheer driving pleasure. Once again, it was a Frenchman: Jean-François Lucquin was the delighted recipient of a BMW 535i in 2010. That seemed to open the floodgates. Andrew Marshall from England was next, winning a BMW 640i Gran Coupé in 2012. Two years later, an electrified car found a new owner for the first time, when Englishman James Heath was rewarded for his dream shot with a BMW i8. Richie Ramsay from Scotland (2016, BMW M760Li xDrive), England’s Aaron Rai (2018, BMW i8 Roadster) and Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar (2019, BMW M8 Competition Coupé) took the number of Hole-in-One Cars won to eight.

Last year, children and youngsters were among the winners at the BMW International Open, as the “Eagles for Education” initiative made its debut. For each eagle carded during the tournament, the BMW Group donated € 1,000 to education projects and rounded the total amount up to € 99,000. “Eagles for Education” returns this year to help achieve educational equity and equal opportunity in Munich.

Facts and records from throughout the history of the tournament.

Most wins (2).

Paul Azinger (1990 and 1992), Thomas Bjørn (2000 and 2002),

Pablo Larrazábal (2011 and 2015), Henrik Stenson (2006 and 2016)

Youngest winner.

Martin Kaymer (23 years and 177 days, 2008)

Oldest winner.

Ernie Els (43 years and 248 days, 2013)

Lowest 18 hole score.

Thorbjørn Olesen (61 shots, -11, 2018)

Lowest 72 hole score.

John Daly (261 shots, -27, 2001)

Lowest final round by a winner.

Peter Fowler (63 shots, 9 under par, 1993)

Wire-to-wire winners.

David Feherty (1989), Sandy Lyle (1991), Ernie Els (2013), Li Haotong (2022)

Largest winning margin (5 shots).

Mark McNulty (1994), Frank Nobilo (1995), David Horsey (2010), Fabrizio Zanotti (2014), Pablo Larrazábal (2015)

Play-offs.

1990: Paul Azinger beat David Feherty

1992: Paul Azinger beat Glen Day, Anders Forsbrand, Mark James and Bernhard Langer

1997: Robert Karlsson beat Carl Watts

2006: Henrik Stenson beat Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington

2011: Pablo Larrazábal beat Sergio Garcia

2012: Danny Willett beat Marcus Fraser

2014: Fabrizio Zanotti beat Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Grégory Havret and Henrik Stenson

2019: Andrea Pavan beat Matt Wallace

2022: Li Haotong beat Thomas Pieters

Holes-in-one (26) & Hole-in-One Cars won (8).

Jay Townsend (12^th hole, round 4, 1991), BMW 325i Cabrio

Steen Tinning (8^th hole, round 4, 1992)

Domingo Hospital (8^th hole, round 2, 1994)

Florian Bruhns (AM) (8th hole, round 1, 1995)

Gary Evans (3^rd hole, round 3, 1995)

Alex Cejka (8^th hole, round 1, 1997

Domingo Hospital (2^nd hole, round 3, 1997)

Thomas Bjørn (2nd hole, round 2, 1999)

John Daly (12^th hole, round 1, 2001)

Raphaël Jacquelin (17^th hole, round 2, 2001), BMW Z8

Andrew Coltart (2^nd hole, round 2, 2003)

Colin Montgomerie (8^th hole, round 3, 2009)

Jean-François Lucquin (17^th hole, round 4, 2010), BMW 535i

Alexander Knappe (2^nd hole, round 2, 2011)

Andrew Marshall (16^th hole, round 2, 2012), BMW 640i Gran Coupé

James Heath (16^th hole, round 4, 2014), BMW i8

Richie Ramsay (16^th hole, round 1, 2016), BMW M760Li xDrive

Sergio Garcia (11^th hole, round 2, 2016)

Andres Romero (2^nd hole, round 1, 2017)

Paul Peterson (2^nd hole, round 1, 2017)

Aaron Rai (16^th hole, round 2, 2018), BMW i8 Roadster

Gaganjeet Bhullar (17^th hole, round 2, 2019), BMW M8 Competition Coupé

Vincent Normann (16th hole, round 3, 2021)

Takumi Kanaya (12th hole, round 1, 2023)

Joost Luiten (8th hole, round 2, 2023)

Connor Syme (2^nd hole, round 3, 2023)

Albatrosses (4).

José Maria Olazábal (11^th hole, round 2, 2001)

Rafa Echenique (18th hole, round 4, 2009)

Vincent Normann (16th hole, round 3, 2021)

Max Kieffer (11th hole, round 1, 2022)

Low cut.

139 shots (-5), 1992 and 1997

High cut.

148 shots (+4), 1990 and 2018

Venues.

Golfclub München Eichenried (1989-1993, 1997-2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, since 2019)

St. Eurach Land- und Golfclub (1994-1996)

Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)

All winners.

2023: Thriston Lawrence (RSA)

2022: Li Haotong (CHN)

2021: Viktor Hovland (NOR)

2020: no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

2019: Andrea Pavan (ITA)

2018: Matt Wallace (ENG)

2017: Andrés Romero (ARG)

2016: Henrik Stenson (SWE)

2015: Pablo Larrazábal (ESP)

2014: Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)

2013: Ernie Els (RSA)

2012: Danny Willett (ENG)

2011: Pablo Larrazábal (ESP)

2010: David Horsey (ENG)

2009: Nick Dougherty (ENG)

2008: Martin Kaymer (GER)

2007: Niclas Fasth (SWE)

2006: Henrik Stenson (SWE)

2005: David Howell (ENG)

2004: Miguel Angel Jiménez (ESP)

2003: Lee Westwood (ENG)

2002: Thomas Bjørn (DEN)

2001: John Daly (USA)

2000: Thomas Bjørn (DEN)

1999: Colin Montgomerie (SCO)

1998: Russell Claydon (ENG)

1997: Robert Karlsson (SWE)

1996: Marc Farry (FRA)

1995: Frank Nobilo (NZL)

1994: Mark McNulty (ZIM)

1993: Peter Fowler (AUS)

1992: Paul Azinger (USA)

1991: Sandy Lyle (SCO)

1990: Paul Azinger (USA)

1989: David Feherty (NIR)