I travelled back from the US via Sweden and then here to Munich. I felt unwell on arrival early on Tuesday morning, stayed in my room for a couple of hours, and then decided the best cure was to get acclimatised to this week’s golf course, fresh air, time change and weather for this week’s €2 million BMW International Open in Munich on the DP World Tour.
I have recently played on invites on the PGA Tour in both the Memorial Tournament and the RBC Canadian Open.
I did not play the BMW International Open tournament in 2021, won by Norwegian Victor Hovland and there was no tournament in 2020 due to Covid. In 2019 I came tied third on this same golf course with rounds of 70, 69, 70 and a final round of 66, that included two bogeys for a 13 under par finish. So, I am comfortable with the layout of the Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Munich, Germany.
I finished two shots off winner Andrea Pavan of Italy, who beat Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off. Congratulations to Matt on last week’s US Open victory. Is he really only the fourth English player to win this major in the last 100 years, after Cyril Walker, Tony Jacklin and Justin Rose? What a performance!
My draw for the first-round on Thursday is from hole 1 in Match 30 at 1.30pm (German time). I am paired with Scot Robert MacIntyre and Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark.
Playing with youngsters
I am really playing with the youngsters this week with Robert born in 1996 and Rasmus born in 2001. I am delighted to see a total of 15 Germans in the field, both pros and amateurs, that is important for the development of the game, in all the countries we visit on the DP World Tour.
The golf course this week measures 7,284 yards and we are playing it as a par 72. It is set up nicely and I expect some good scores.
The weather forecast looks OK except for Friday afternoon, which looks somewhat of a worry, with perhaps rain and thunderstorms, but not for me, hopefully, with my late-early start for the first two rounds.
Familiar faces
I enjoyed doing a six-hole Titleist challenge on Tuesday with Peter Finch, the Golf YouTuber and Social Media influencer who boasts almost 500,000 subscribers.
I will not tell you the outcome, except it is well worth a watch on Peter’s channels. What a finish!
Today (Wednesday) I am in the Pro-Am playing in the afternoon, and it is always nice to see some familiar faces from Dubai on my travels, at Tuesday night’s draw party: Gurbax Singh, Satnam Kaur and Randeep Singh. They are tremendous supporters of golf in Dubai and internationally and we hope they enjoy this week.
It is an important week for myself as a golfer as well as the DP World Tour and other Tours around the world!
— Rafa Cabrera Bello is a Dubai Golden Visa Awardee and has a winter base in Dubai. He is a four-time winner on the DP World Tour including the winner of the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic. Rafa is also an Ambassador of JA Resorts & Hotels
