David GonzalezMichael Hollick won the BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried with a birdie-eagle finish that denied fellow South African Hennie du Plessis and gave the 39-year-old rookie his first DP World Tour title.
That sentence sounds tidy enough. The actual finish was anything but.
Hollick closed with a 67 to reach 18 under par, becoming the third South African to win the BMW International Open after Thriston Lawrence in 2023 and Ernie Els in 2013. For a player who had put the clubs away in 2022 and moved into coaching at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate in Durban, it was less a career milestone than a full-scale plot twist.
A Late Lunge In Munich
With two holes to play, Hollick was three shots adrift. In golfing terms, that is not quite dead and buried, but the gravedigger has at least picked up the shovel.
Du Plessis, chasing the title himself, gave the field a sniff when he bogeyed the 17th and then made par at the last. Hollick had also stumbled with a bogey on the 16th, but his response was magnificent.
First came a brilliant birdie at the 17th. Then came the brave part.
On the 18th tee, Hollick took on a dangerous line that flirted with water and common sense in roughly equal measure. The ball survived. The approach was better still, finishing 20 feet from the hole. The eagle putt disappeared, and with it went the notion that this tournament belonged to anyone else.
From Coaching Bay To DP World Tour Champion
Hollick’s victory is all the richer for the route he took to get there.
After stepping away from the game in 2022, he spent a year coaching full-time. Then came the rebuild. A strong campaign on the Sunshine Tour saw him finish seventh on the Order of Merit in 2025, good enough to claim the final available DP World Tour card.
Now, in his rookie season, he is a DP World Tour winner.
“I was actually calm the whole day, stuck to the same stuff I’ve done the whole week. You start making birdies and it’s easy to start thinking too far ahead, and I kind of brought myself back. I just said, ‘if I have a chance to win the tournament on the back nine, that’s what I want’ and funnily enough yesterday when I went to bed, I thought if I have the chance to make eagle at the last to win it, that would be something.
“I actually thought I was a big far back, I didn’t really know what the scores were but I saw Hennie was going a bit upfront and I had two five-irons. Two perfect five-irons on 17 and 18, so couldn’t ask for much more really.
“It’s amazing, honestly. I’ve just given myself and my family such a good opportunity, so really looking forward to it. Four years ago, I put the clubs in the cupboard and started coaching, did a full year of coaching full-time and played like ten events on the Sunshine Tour, played quite well but didn’t get into any of the big events.
“Then started 2024 by winning the Zimbabwe Open and started finding my feet again and won another two tournaments and then started the season nicely here. The first year is tough, it’s all the unknown, you’re playing your heart out to keep your card and give yourself a chance next year, but here we are.”
Du Plessis Misses Out, But Books Birkdale
For Du Plessis, there was frustration and consolation in the same envelope.
His final-round 66 secured second place at the BMW International Open and with it a spot at the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in two weeks’ time via the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World.
Bernd Wiesberger also earned his place at Royal Birkdale, finishing third on 14 under, three shots behind Du Plessis. The BMW International Open therefore did more than crown a surprise champion; it also helped shape the field for one of golf’s grandest stages.
Five Open Championship spots were available to players not already exempt through the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World at the conclusion of the tournament. Joining Du Plessis and Wiesberger at Royal Birkdale will be Jayden Schaper, Andy Sullivan and Dan Bradbury.
The Chasers Behind Hollick
Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Carlos Ortiz finished tied fourth at 12 under, while local favourite Thomas Rosenmueller gave the Munich galleries a final roar by eagling the last to move into solo sixth.
Ashun Wu and Joaquin Niemann both signed for rounds of 70 to share seventh place on ten under. Marco Penge, Joe Dean, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Victor Perez finished one shot further back.
It was a leaderboard with plenty of movement, but Hollick’s late ambush stole the thing entirely. Golf has a habit of rewarding patience, punishing nerves and occasionally handing the script to the least likely actor in the room. Munich delivered all three.
Chacarra Takes The European Swing
Away from the final-green drama, Eugenio Chacarra clinched the European Swing despite missing the cut at Golfclub München Eichenried.
Successive victories at the KLM Open and DS Automobiles 83° Open d’Italia had given Chacarra enough breathing room over Kota Kaneko to secure the $200,000 prize and earn entries to each event of Phase Two of the season, The Back 9.
Oliver Lindell also benefited from the final European Swing standings. As the leading available DP World Tour member not otherwise exempt from the European Swing Rankings, he will join the field for next week’s Genesis Scottish Open, the second Rolex Series event of the season.
A Win That Changes The Shape Of A Career
Hollick’s BMW International Open victory will be remembered for the finish, naturally. Birdie-eagle closers tend to survive in the mind better than steady pars and polite handshakes.
But the deeper story is the detour. A player who left the game, taught it, returned to it, fought through the Sunshine Tour and then arrived in Munich as a rookie has walked away with a DP World Tour title.
Some wins are built on dominance. This one was built on nerve, timing and two five-irons that behaved as though they had read the ending in advance.
For Hollick, the clubs are out of the cupboard now. One suspects they will be staying out for quite some time.
A Rookie Win With Proper Weight
The BMW International Open has a new champion, but the manner of Hollick’s victory gives it added texture. A final-round 67. A last-hole eagle. A first DP World Tour title. A rookie season transformed in one afternoon.
There are wins that arrive politely. This one kicked the door open, tracked mud across the carpet and left with the silverware.
