Scotsman Ewen Ferguson wins in Germany...final reults..

 DP World Tour : BMW International Results

Ewen Ferguson claimed his third DP World Tour title and a place at The Open Championship as a closing 68 handed him a two-shot win at the BMW International O.

The Scot entered the final day at Golfclub München Eichenried in a share of the lead with England's Jordan Smith and the duo were engaged in an enthralling nip-and-tuck battle throughout Sunday in Germany.

A two-shot swing on the 14th proved the turning point, however, and Ferguson held his nerve down the stretch to get to 18 under and was in tears as a closing par ensured he lifted the trophy.

The victory also earns him a place at Royal Troon via the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and he moves to his highest position on the Official World Golf Ranking - potentially entering the top 100.

Jesper Svensson, Laurie Canter, Nacho Elvira and Matteo Manassero also booked their places at The Open as part of the top five players on the Race to Dubai not already exempt, while Guido Migliozzi confirmed his status as the winner of the European Swing.

Smith carded a 70 to finish at 16 under alongside Australian David Micheluzzi, who signed for a 68, two clear of England's Matthew Southgate and Scot Connor Syme.

Ferguson has been suffering with vertigo this season and had to retire at the European Open last time we were in Germany but he bounced back with two top 30s and is now back in the winner's circle one year and 328 days after his last win at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics.

His is the first Scottish win this season and he now sits alongside some illustrious countrymen, with Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie the only previous Scottish winners of this event.

"I honestly can't believe it," he said. "The last four holes I felt like I was in a dream, I didn't think that this was actually happening, it was crazy I was hitting it so well and so much further than usual.

"I just wanted to do it for my dad, my mum, my sister, my brother at home. I love them so much and every shot I hit, I hit with them in mind.

"It's such a hard game, I've been moaning like mad the last two months and with also being sick. The (Open) exemption with this is so much weight off my shoulders and I'm so happy. I can't believe it."

Belgian Mathis Besard, Swede Jens Dantorp and Japan's Rikuya Hoshino were at 13 under, one clear of Italian Filippo Celli, England's Ross Fisher, Frenchman Romain Langasque and Belgium's Thomas Pieters.

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Bryan Angus (edit)

Langer bids fond adieu to DP World Tour..

 

DP World Tour : BMW International Open Leaderboard

Bernhard Langer said an emotional farewell to the DP World Tour as he brought the curtain down on a 50-year dream come true at the BMW International Open.

The German made his DP World Tour debut in 1974 and would go on to play over 500 events, claim 42 wins including two Masters Tournaments, win the Harry Vardon Trophy twice and star in the Ryder Cup as a victorious captain and player.

This week at Golfclub München Eichenried he played his final event, carding a brilliant opening 71 and then playing through the pain in a second-round 73 in front of huge galleries.

That did not see him make the weekend but he got the biggest cheers of the week, holing a gutsy nine-footer on the last for a par before leaving the green to a rapturous ovation.

The 66-year-old was showing signs of emotion as he played the 18th and he had to fight back tears as he spoke post-round, reflecting on a journey and a career that has seen him and the DP World Tour give each other so much.

"It's hard to put into words," he said. "It's kind of been a dream come true for me, growing up in a village of 800 people where nobody knew what golf was.

"When I told my classmates that I was going to play golf they thought I was crazy, they thought I was a mini golfer. People had no idea, it was really a strange situation.

"Even when I finished school and I tried to become a golf professional people didn't even know what that was, it didn't even exist as a profession in a way. So it was very difficult and complicated but it was my dream. I was able to live that dream for 50 years.

"I have wonderful memories from all over the world, not just in Europe but Asia, Australia, Japan, America, South Africa. I was able to travel the world and meet with kings and queens.

"I played golf with all sorts of people, whether they were successful businessmen or just the average butcher or bricklayer or whatever, it was fun, it was great."

It was not all plain sailing for Langer, who had the putting yips several times in his career and has admitted it had him considering giving the game up at times.

But he fought back and revealed he was immensely proud of the legacy that he and fellow European greats Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam - known as the Big Five - had left.

"I had lots of ups and downs in my career," he said. "There were difficult times with the yips and other things but I had many wonderful moments.

"It was a privilege to play with the Big Five as they call them. I think we spurred each other on and I believe we probably made the Tour in the 80s and 90s what it is now, what it has become.

"It was fun playing against these guys and the youngsters now bear the benefits of that.

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Bryan Angus (edit)

BMW International Open: weekend scoreboard

 DP World Tour : BMW International Open..Leaderboard

Ewen Ferguson was delighted to be enjoying his golf again as he fired a brilliant 64 to open up a two-shot lead after two rounds at the BMW International Open.

There were emotional scenes on the last as German great Bernhard Langer bid farewell to the DP World Tour but at the top of the leaderboard, Ferguson was making headlines of his own in Bavaria.

The Scotsman has been struggling with vertigo and retired from the European Open last month but bounced back with two top-30s and rounds of 67-64 have put him in control at Golfclub München Eichenried.

Ferguson led by five at -13  after he finished his round on Friday but Frenchman Romain Langasque carded a 65 in the afternoon to get to -11  and trim the advantage.

English duo Jordan Smith and Matthew Southgate, Australian David Micheluzzi, American Patrick Reed and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger were at -8

Ferguson had a breakthrough season in 2022 after graduating from the European Challenge Tour, winning twice, and has been a picture of consistency on Tour ever since.

He has not missed a cut since January, registering two top tens, but revealed the vertigo has made his season a struggle at times.

"It’s been quite tough, struggling with vertigo," he said. "It makes you feel so funny.

"You get days where you feel totally normal and think you can play again, like I tried to do in Hamburg and then it came on again and I was like ‘oh no’.

"When you’re on the sidelines watching the golf, you realise how lucky you are to play it. I couldn’t wait to get back out.

"My first event back at KLM, I was loving it to be honest. Last week in Italy was nice. The weather’s been so good here, I love Munich, and I just feel like I’m enjoying it a lot more."

Southgate made eight birdies and a bogey in a 65, Wiesberger and Smith carded a pair of 67s, Reed recovered from two bogeys with an eagle and a hat-trick of birdies in a 65 and overnight leader Micheluzzi overcame two bogeys and a double in a 70.

There were then ten players six shots off the lead.

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Bryan Angus (edit)

Micheluzzi (Who?) leads BMW International Open....full round 1 results

 DP World Tour :  BMW International Open Leaderboard

 David Micheluzzi catapulted himself to the top of the leaderboard with a birdie-birdie finish to take a one-shot lead after day one of the BMW International Open.

The Australian rookie has had an indifferent start to life on the DP World Tour that he has called "absolutely terrible" but he made a mockery of that form at Golfclub München Eichenried.

The 27-year-old carded seven birdies and a bogey in a -6 66 and lead the way from Scot Ewen Ferguson, South African Casey Jarvis, England's Frank Kennedy and American Patrick Reed all at -5 67

Big crowds lined the fairways from early in the day as two-time Masters Champion Bernhard Langer played his final DP World Tour event and the 66-year-old gave them something to cheer about with a one-under-par 71.

That was five shots behind Micheluzzi, however, as the 2023 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner looked to kickstart his season. 

Micheluzzi has made just five of his 11 cuts so far this season but recorded a second top ten of the campaign in Italy last week and is hoping to rediscover the form that got him on Tour.

"Absolutely terrible," he said of his season so far. "I think last week was my fifth cut made this season so I'm just trying to find my feet out here a little bit.

"Now everything is starting to feel a little bit more comfortable and I've just got to do what I do best and that's play good golf.

"I got here from playing good golf in Australia, and I've just got to keep doing that."

Patrick Reed over from LIV, set the early pace and was -6 after a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th and further gains on the 16th, third and fifth but he dropped a shot on the sixth.

Jarvis was bogey-free with gains on the fifth, sixth, ninth, 11th and last, while Ferguson and teenager Kennedy both recorded seven birdies and two bogeys.

England's Joe Dean, South African Darren Fichardt, American Jordan Gumberg, Frenchman Romain Langasque, Dutchman Joost Luiten and Australian Thomas Power Horan were at -4 with 53 players within four shots of the lead.

EDIT ***** lone Canadian on Tour Aaron Cockerill had an average day T87 36 36 72 E will need a good Friday to see the weekend

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Bryan Angus (edit)

Bernhard Langer bids farewell at BMW International Open.. full scoreboard

 DP World Tour : BMW International Leaderboard

Thomas Bjørn says Bernhard Langer “moved mountains for golfers around the world” in reaching untapped demographics as he paid a glowing tribute to the European great.

Langer is making his farewell appearance on the DP World Tour this week at the BMW International Open in Germany, 50 years on from his debut in 1974.

Bjørn, another stalwart of European golf, is also teeing it up in Munich and the Dane is in no doubt that the global expansion of the sport over recent decades is in part a result of how two-time Masters champion Langer inspired new participation. 

“My view on Bernhard is that as a northern European, when you look at the game of golf and historically where the game of golf has been, Great Britain & Ireland and Spain were the leading parts of European golf.

"Here was this guy who wasn’t from there and represented a different (geographical) demographic in golf and he gave a lot of hope to a lot of players from other countries, and he was a trailblazer for being the best in the world from not where you would expect golfers to come from at that time.

"Bernhard moved mountains for golfers around the world."

Langer has won 42 DP World Tour titles across his career, second only to Severiano Ballesteros, and was one of the big five of European golf during the 1980s.

He won the Green Jacket twice, in 1985 and 1993, went on to become World Number One in 1986, and was a six-time Ryder Cup winner.

Bjørn, a 15-time winner on the DP World Tour, made his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 in a team that also featured Langer, while the pair have both captained Europe to victory. Bjørn also served as a Ryder Cup Vice Captain to Langer in 2004.

At the age of 66 Langer continues to compete at a high level, holding the record for most victories on PGA TOUR Champions with 46, including a record 12 Senior Major wins.

"When you look at him as a player and what he has achieved, he maybe sometimes doesn’t get the credit for how good he was around the world," reflected Bjørn.

"In European golf, it is very easy to pick out Seve Ballesteros, (Sir Nick) Faldo. At times Bernhard went a little under the radar.

"When you start breaking down his records and what he has done, it is quite remarkable."

“You will never meet a truer gentleman in the game than Bernhard Langer,” he added.

“He is an honour to be around and a pleasure to be around. I wanted to be here for his final appearance.

“I played a lot of tournament golf with him, but I also played a lot of practice golf with him, and he always made me feel welcome into his world.

“For me, it is the man behind all the greatness that impresses me the most. We should celebrate him this week because there are very few people who have achieved what he has.”

Langer, who said earlier in the week he anticipates the chance to bid goodbye in front of home crowds will be "very emotional", is playing alongside countrymen Martin Kaymer and Marcel Siem in the opening two rounds.

Among the early wave of starters in Thursday’s first round, Langer parred his first ten holes from the tenth before he bounced back from a bogey at the par-three second with back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth to finish with a one-under-par 71.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable," he said in a post-round interview. "I teed off at 7:40 so I got to tee off at 7:30 in the morning and it seemed like there were thousands of people and the atmosphere was incredible the whole way around.

"That was just amazing, and we truly enjoyed it. It was great to play with Marcel and with Martin and you know, I said this could be the last time we ever play golf together and that's reality.

"So, it was an amazing day. It's just wonderful for the people, the way they turned out and how they cheered us on all day long."

Siem won his sixth DP World Tour title last week in Italy as he registered the 71st win by a player from Germany, and Langer is thrilled by the breadth of talent among players from his homeland across the globe.

"We've become very close friends over the years and we cheer each other on across the oceans and wherever we are around the world," he said.

"Marcel won last week in Italy. And I texted him immediately from Florida. Just stuff like that, it's great to see you and.

"I'm very proud that we have so many young German players now on all the many tours around the world and they're successful too.

"It took a long time, but it's finally taking root and it's fun to see."

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Bryan Angus (edit)

Blandy turns career around as a Senior..

 USGA...US Senior Open.Results

Richard Bland won the 44th U.S. Senior Open with a par on the fourth play-off hole at Newport Country Club, outlasting Japan's Hiroyuki Fujita in a marathon Monday finish in Rhode Island.

Both players finished on -13 after the third Senior Major of the year was pushed into a Monday finish due to adverse weather conditions on Sunday, with a two-hole aggregate play-off needed to decide the winner.

The aggregate play-off did not produce a champion, with both Bland and Fujita going par-par as the play-off moved to hole-by-hole format. The duo each recorded a bogey at the next, before Bland got up-and-down from the greenside bunker for par at the fourth hole and in doing so secured his  Senior Major of the year following his triumph at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Michigan.

"This is very special, struggling to put it into words right now," said Bland. "It was just a tough day, we were chasing Fujita all week. I think he had the lead pretty much wire-to-wire. I made a great birdie on 15 to go one in front, but kind of tried to trip over myself on the last. Just thankful to get into a play-off.

"To get this one as well, to go two-for-two, that's beyond my wildest dreams."

Australia's Richard Green finished third on ten under par, with Steve Stricker a shot further back in fourth and Thongchai Jaidee and Bob Estes sharing fifth on eight under

Canadians : Stephen Ames T8, David Morland T57, Mike Weir WD

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Bryan Angus (edit )

Siem battles to win Italian Open.. Cockerill T10.. final results

 DP World Tour : Italian Open. Results

Marcel Siem confirmed his status as the DP World Tour's comeback king with a play-off victory over Tom McKibbin that handed him a sixth Tour title at the Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna.

The German was playing just his fourth event back after hip surgery in February and admitted after round three that he felt like an 80-year-old teeing it up at last month's Soudal Open.

He looked in fine fettle as he entered the final day at Adriatic Golf Club Cervia and was three shots ahead of clubhouse leader McKibbin - who had set the target at ten under with a bogey-free 65 - after eight holes.

Four bogeys on the back nine, however, saw him one behind the Northern Irishman stood on the 18th tee and he had to come back again, holing a clutch 22-footer to take us to extra holes with a closing 71.

Both players found the fairway off the tee and hit excellent approaches into the 18th green but while McKibbin missed his birdie chance from around 12 feet, Siem made his from slightly closer range to bring a huge, fist-pumping celebration.

McKibbin has the consolation of earning a place at The Open Championship along with American Sean Crocker who finished a shot out of the play-off, with Siem already exempt for the season's final Major.

Crocker carded a 68 to sit alongside German Jannik de Bruyn, who took one shot more to get to nine under.

Siem won his first DP World Tour title over 20 years ago and when he won his fourth en route to finishing seventh on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex in 2014, he had the world at his feet.

But he lost his card for the 2021 season and went to the European Challenge Tour, where he would play 13 weeks in a row, ending with a victory at the La Vaudreuil Golf Challenge that earned him a place at The Open.

He would lose his card again in 2022 but won it straight back at the Qualifying School and in 2023 claimed an emotional first DP World Tour win in over eight years at the Hero Indian Open.

He has again overcome adversity in more ways than one this week and the 43-year-old admits it is a career highlight.

"Holing that putt on 18 was one the coolest moments in golf for me and doing it again in a play-off was fantastic," he said.

"I love this sport and these moments, I work really hard for them. When you get rewarded like this, it’s a very special moment. I think it’s the second oldest trophy on mainland Europe. So I’ve got the French Open and this one now, I’m so proud of that. My journey is just beginning, it feels like.

"My big goal is to get in the Ryder Cup once. I’ve never played the Ryder Cup or the Masters. These are the two big goals for me and whatever happens on the way there, I’ll take it and keep working even harder. I’m just loving it. I love my life at the moment. It’s great."

****Final result Canada's Aaron Cockerill finished T10 66 70 71 70 -7 277, worth 45,141 euros ($66,466 cdn,), now stands 27th in the Race to Dubai standings.

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Bryan Angus (edit)