The BMW International Open 2026 began its week at Golfclub München Eichenried with the traditional Pro-Am on Wednesday, where changeable weather, familiar sporting faces and Philipp Lahm’s education initiative gave the 37th edition of the tournament a lively opening act before Thursday’s first round.

There are few things more optimistic than a Pro-Am golfer standing on a tee in uncertain weather, smiling as though the golfing gods are about to reward his confidence rather than expose it. Munich offered exactly that sort of theatre. The anticipation was already bubbling around Eichenried, even if the clouds had rather different ideas about the schedule.

Poor weather delayed the start until around midday, forcing the Pro-Am to be reduced to nine holes. In fairness, for some celebrity golfers, nine holes may be the precise point at which enthusiasm and technique remain on speaking terms.

Celebrities Take On Eichenried Before The Serious Business Begins

The field still had plenty of shine. Football legends Philipp Lahm and Oliver Bierhoff were among those swapping boots for spikes, while FC Bayern Munich Basketball players Andreas Obst and Johannes Voigtmann also took their turn with the smaller, less obedient ball.

Germany’s NHL contingent was represented by Moritz Seider and Tim Stützle, who demonstrated that a hockey player’s hand-eye coordination does not entirely disappear when the puck is replaced by a Titleist and the ice by damp Bavarian turf.

BMW M Motorsport works driver Jordan Pepper also teed it up, alongside seven-time Olympic luge champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, and two-time Olympic bobsleigh champion Johannes Lochner. Television and film added its own flourish through Kai Wiesinger and Kostja Ullmann.

It was the sort of Pro-Am cast list that makes golf look briefly like the green room of German sport and entertainment. The scorecards mattered less than the mood, and despite the weather doing its level best to behave like a committee meeting, the atmosphere held.

Kaymer, Schmid And Penge Face The Media

Before heading out for their Pro-Am rounds, Martin Kaymer, Matti Schmid and Marco Penge spent time in the Media Center, answering questions ahead of the tournament proper.

For Kaymer and Schmid, this week carries the added edge of home attention. German golf does not often get to roll out its biggest stage on home soil, and when it does, every familiar name comes with an extra layer of expectation attached. Not quite pressure, perhaps. More a polite national cough from behind the ropes.

Penge, meanwhile, arrives as part of the wider competitive story that will begin in earnest on Thursday morning. The Pro-Am is the handshake. Round one is where the niceties stop.

Philipp Lahm Foundation Gives The Week A Bigger Purpose

Beyond the celebrity pairings and pre-tournament chatter, one of the more meaningful strands of the BMW International Open 2026 is the continued collaboration between the BMW Group and the Philipp Lahm Foundation for Sport and Education through the EAGLES FOR EDUCATION initiative.

As part of the tournament, BMW Group is supporting the foundation’s Philipp Lahm Summer Camps with a donation of 1,000 euros for every eagle scored. BMW ambassadors will also provide on-site support.

“Together with the BMW Group, we are working to empower children for the future and for their lives. Children have their whole lives ahead of them – and they are our future,” said Lahm at a press conference during the BMW International Open Pro-Am tournament. “Our aim is to provide them with support in three areas: physical activity, healthy eating and personal development.”

That is the sort of tournament add-on that deserves more than a polite nod between sponsor mentions. The summer camps have been held in the Munich area since 2009, with 80 children taking part in each camp. Since 2025, BMW Group ambassadors have also introduced children to the concept of mobility in a playful way, extending the idea beyond vehicles and into how people move, live and imagine the future.

The examples are refreshingly tangible. Children wear weighted vests to experience what it feels like to be overweight. They also build models based on their own ideas of future mobility. It is part education, part imagination, part practical empathy — and rather more useful than another corporate banner beside a tee box.

“Each of us has strengths.You just have to discover them. At the summer camps, the children have a week to discover their talents through play, and then they go home feeling empowered for the future,” says Lahm, who visits every camp himself and chats with the children.

“What’s more, we all know how important shared experiences are, and the children have these experiences at the summer camps. At a time when everything is becoming increasingly individualised, we want to make this possible for as many children as possible.”

Round One Begins On Thursday Morning

After Wednesday’s weather-shortened but well-received opening day, attention now moves from handshakes and celebrity swings to the rather more unforgiving business of tournament golf.

The opening round of the 2026 BMW International Open begins on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Players will compete in groups of three, starting from both the 1st and 10th tees.

That is when the week changes character. The laughter thins out, the galleries sharpen their focus and Eichenried starts asking proper questions. Wednesday gave the tournament warmth, purpose and a little theatre. Thursday brings the card, the pencil and the uncomfortable truth that golf, unlike the weather, rarely apologises.