Maximilian Kieffer just missed his best and most surprising birthday present on Sunday. “A bad swing on the 16th hole cost me the win,” said the man from Düsseldorf. Instead of celebrating his 33rd cradle party, the Rhinelander was bitterly disappointed in the end. His shot into the water with a 3 wood off the tee on the course’s shortest hole at 249 meters threw him back to third place in the final round of the 34th BMW International Open. Kieffer shared third place with Japan’s Rikuya Horshino, Poland’s Adam Meronk and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, all of whom needed a total of 277 strokes (11 under par) for the four rounds.
Surprisingly, Thristan Lawrence won the prize and around 310,000 euros in prize money. Thanks to a final round of 69 and a total of 275 strokes, the 26-year-old South African achieved his fourth success on the DP World Tour, a splendid result after only 65 tournament participations on the former European Tour. On the final day he overtook the 37-year-old Dutchman Joost Luiten (74/276 strokes), who after three rounds was three strokes ahead of his compatriot Daan Huizing (73/278).
“It feels terrible”
But the two pros in orange golf shirts opened the gate for the pursuers with rounds above the course standard, led by Lawrence, who made up four strokes behind. The winner could hardly believe his coup and fought back tears. “I’ve been in America for six weeks now and only got a cut once. And now I win in Germany. It’s hard to believe.”
Nobody expected what Kieffer experienced either. The birthday boy was ninth, seven strokes behind in the final round – actually too many to still win at home. But Kieffer, who was the first German to win the first European league in eight years in the Czech Republic last August, played the second-best round of the day with 68 strokes. But he knew that more could have been possible for him. “It feels awful,” Kieffer said. Like three weeks ago at the Porsche European Open, he gambled away the chance of his second victory on the DP World Tour on the final day.
Wolfgang Scheffler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 3 A comment by Wolfgang Scheffler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2 Wolfgang Scheffler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 12
For the Europeans in particular, there was a lot at stake. On Wednesday, when there were exactly one hundred days until the Ryder Cup in Rome, Luke Donald, the English captain of the European selection, announced that this tournament was very important, especially for the Germans. Because the former world number one had three of the professionals in mind who, according to the DP World Tour, had ensured a “breathtaking renaissance of German golf” with four wins.
With Yannik Paul from Viernheim, one of this narrow circle had to cancel his participation on Thursday due to back pain. A bitter setback for the 29-year-old Hessian. Before the tournament began, Paul was in 99th place, not only as the only German among the top 100 in the world rankings, he also ranked in the points classification for the Ryder Cup, one of the places that, due to their performance on the DP World Tour, was considered the greatest spectacle in the qualify golf. Despite this cancellation, the former world number one continues to keep an eye on Paul.
“I like it much better”
For the first two rounds, Donald had chosen 42-year-old Siem, a player he considered suitable for this duel of nerves. The 42-year-old Rhinelander had his fifth victory in February, just ahead of Paul, a brilliant comeback after he was the last German to win on the European Tour in November 2014. Siem completed the first two rounds well with 71 and 68 strokes, but on Saturday he sank the ball twice in the last 18th hole. That triple bogey threw him way back. On Sunday he played one of the worst rounds of his professional career with 82 strokes (10 over par). Of the 76 players, including 13 Germans, who survived the cut (144 strokes/even par), he ended up in 73rd place.
“I think it’s a lot better that I now have six Captain’s Picks instead of three,” Donald said. This year, for both Europe and the United States, captains can nominate six players of their own liking for the greatest spectacle in golf in Rome at the end of September. It seems possible that he will choose the Rhinelander after Kieffer’s final round.
