Without even the uncertainty caused by a pandemic, Marco Kaus Schuler’s work is hard enough every year. Before the BMW International Open at the Eisenhower Golf Club in Munich in June, Kaus S ausller must make several phone calls with managers, discuss with players and adopt their plans, so they will spend a week here in Munich playing golf for a week. Sure: Kaus Schuler has a financially strong partner in the Bavarian car company in an effort to get the best golfers possible on the course – a major sponsor in 2019 by flying some of them known on a private jet. However, the task is very difficult, because the BMW International Open and the Munich location may be a major destination for many players, but the position on the calendar makes it a challenge.

The most traditional professional golf tournament in Germany takes place from June 24 to 27, and is surrounded by many glorious events on the international tournament calendar: one week before the third major tournament of the year. The US Open stands firm for all the top players in the world, including weeks of preparation and focus on the big event. This means that next week’s flight from San Diego, California to Munich has some difficulties associated with jet lag. So most top players want to recover for a week, and only then fly to Europe, with the two best tournaments in Ireland and Scotland for the last major match in England from early July.

Ryder Cup captain Harrington is also coming to Munich

The goal for Kaus Schuler is to find players who are willing to travel further to Germany for a relatively low-cost tournament (total prize money of 1.5 1.5 million). That was not yet the case: “It’s a little harder to achieve a pandemic commitment,” Sauler said at a news conference Tuesday.

However, he won again, because the starting field at the BMW International Open is very impressive: Victor Howland, for example, will be competing for the first time in Munich. The 23-year-old Norwegian, who has only played professionally for a year and a half and is currently ranked 15th in the world, is one of the European leaders on the US PGA Tour. Like Spanish Sergio Garcia, South African Luis Ost Stuisen has visited Munich more than once. Both have already won major titles in their careers, including Irish Padreigh Harrington. That should be the focus of Munich: As captain of the Ryder Cup, he will scrutinize the European protections his team deserves in September. These include Howland and Garcia, as well as Austrian Bernd Weisberger, who is ranked high in the Rider Cup qualifying rankings.

Martin Keimer leads the German region of participants

Local athletes will also perform in Munich. Maximilian Kiefer is surrounded by Alex Sezka, who is currently playing on a senior tour in the USA. Stephen Jogger, who started his teenage years at the Eisenhower Golf Club, will also attend. The German field is led by Martin Keimer, who has shown great results on the European tour, repeating his 2010 and 2014 victories in two major tournaments. The 36-year-old said: “It’s great to get such a field so early.”

Khmer Rouge has a long history at the tournament in Munich. He was the only German to win a home tournament in 2008. Since then he has been a regular, and has been looking forward to the Eisenhower platform with fresh greens for two years: “The greens have not always been so good,” Khmer said, adding that participation in the Rider Cup is still a possible one. According to Khmer, the fact that Captain Harrington can now see him at the BMW International Open does not play a major role for Khmer. He knows: to get another chance, he has to draw attention to himself. For example with a home success.