Olé! Larrazábal wins BMW in Spanish playoff

Golfclub Eichenried, Munich, June 26 - The normal four rounds were not enough to decide the winner of the BMW International Open, and the fans who attended were treated to an exciting 5-hole playoff.

Spaniards Pablo Larrazábal and Sergio Garcia matched each other hole-to-hole until Larrazabal birdied the final hole and won the trophy.  His win also qualifies him to play in the British Open in two weeks.

"Beating one of my heroes when I was growing up is just a dream - very emotional," said Larrazábal.  

Despite the loss, Garcia's finish met his minimum goal to qualify for The Open Championship to be held in Sandwich Kent.  “After all when you look at it, I'm pretty satisfied. I think that I'm sure that we can learn some good things from this week, and we just can move forward.”

The Spaniards may have stolen the show, but all eyes were on the world's #3 coming into the tournament, Martin Kaymer.  The German finished with a respectable 69 for the round and played well after two disappointing major championship performances.  "I am very satisfied with my play, just a shame too little putt fell." 

Kaymer 18th place finish will mean he loses the #3 ranking to Rory McIlroy who will not play until the British Open.  Kaymer will have a chance to catch McIlroy and regain the #1 spot if he continues his play.  "I am on the right track and can take a lot of positives to build on from this tournament."

17,400 fans attended the final round and over 62,000 fans visted the club over the holiday weekend and breaks a record set in 2006.  Next year the tournament will be played in Cologne but will return to Munich for the tournament's 25th year anniversary.