The stage is set: from 22nd to 26th June, GC Gut Lärchenhof near Cologne will host to a star field at the most prestigious professional golf tournament in Germany: the BMW International Open. BMW is organising this European Tour event for the 28th time.
In doing so, it continues a remarkable success story: no other European Tour event has been held under the same name for such a long time as the BMW International Open. We present an overview of all the important information and fascinating facts to do with the tournament week:
The numbers: Take a look at some fascinating figures, which reveal what goes on behind the scenes to make the tournament a success.Â
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â video walls and 50 screens.
10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â leaderboards and two hole-by-hole scoreboards.
53Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â exhibitors present their golf-related products.
150Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â km of TV, electricity and telephone cables.
200Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â experts make TV broadcasts possible.
250Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â trucks are unloaded.
500Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â volunteers offer their services.
500Â Â Â Â Â Â Â technicians assemble and dismantle equipment.
2,000Â Â Â Â Â Â seats in the various grandstands.
3,500Â Â Â Â Â Â project professionals ensure everything runs smoothly.
5,000Â Â Â Â Â Â sandwiches are eaten.
7,000Â Â Â Â Â Â litres of beer are served.
9,500      m² of tents are erected for hospitality, exhibition and work areas.
15,000    m² of Public Area.
20,000Â Â Â litres of water are drunk.
38,850Â Â Â Â golf shots will be played in roughly 450 rounds of golf.
60,000Â Â Â Â spectators are expected.
140,000Â Â kilometres will be covered by the BMW Shuttle Service.
Top players: Many pros in action at this weekendâs second Major of the year, the U.S. Open, will travel straight from Oakmont (US state of Pennsylvania) to the BMW International Open. They include Masters champion Danny Willett (ENG), Henrik Stenson (SWE) and Sergio GarcĂa (ESP), as well as BMW Golfsport Ambassadors Max Kieffer (GER) and Bernd Wiesberger (AUT). Flying the flag for Germany will be local favourites Marcel Siem and Alex Cejka, who is making a rare appearance in Germany at the BMW International Open. Golf fans can also look forward to seeing the flamboyant Miguel Ăngel JimĂŠnez (ESP) and defending champion Pablo LarrazĂĄbal (ESP).
Directions: There is sufficient free parking at the tournament site. Visitors should check out the current parking situation and possible alternative parking arrangements atwww.bmw-golfsport.com before setting off â particularly in adverse weather conditions. You can also travel comfortably with the S-Bahn railway and the free shuttle service from KĂśln-Worringen station.
Live broadcasts: Sky (pay TV, Thursday to Sunday) and Sport1 (free TV, Saturday and Sunday) will broadcast live from Cologne. Live streams from all days of the tournament are available on sport1.de and golf.de. You can find all the broadcast times at www.bmw-golfsport.com
