Ben Coley's golf betting tips: BMW International Open preview and best bets

Golf betting tips: BMW International Open

2pts e.w. Eugenio Chacarra at 33/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

2pts e.w. Laurie Canter at 40/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)

1.5pts e.w. Joost Luiten at 50/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)

1pt e.w. Jorge Campillo at 60/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

1pt e.w. Daniel Hillier at 66/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

0.5pt e.w. Davis Bryant at 350/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

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The BMW International Open is the strongest DP World Tour event of summer so far and it marks the return of Sergio Garcia, part of a LIV battalion headlined by last week's winner in Dallas and fellow pantomime villain, Patrick Reed.

There would be some irony were Reed to cement his Ryder Cup claims by winning in Europe as there would be were Garcia to win on his first start on the Tour since 2022, when he so controversially withdrew at Wentworth, then flew home to Texas to watch some college football.

Not only that, but shortly before confirming his departure to LIV, it was here in Munich that Garcia went on a locker-room tirade which lost him a few admirers, something for which he's yet to offer a public apology. Might one arrive this week should he find himself in front of the media, much like Wyndham Clark a fortnight ago?

As with Reed, Garcia retains Ryder Cup ambitions but his own have been hurt by a poor run since the Masters. There have been flashes – the second-round 68 to make the cut in the PGA, 64 in Virginia, a closing 70 under tough conditions last week – but it's become much harder to argue for his inclusion at Bethpage.

Perhaps the Open, rather than this tournament, will determine which if either is able to force their captain into a difficult choice and while a flight from Dallas isn't ideal, both are used to it. I'd say it won't be an excuse and, with plenty of course form to call upon, both will have their backers.

Another factor to ponder is Open qualifying, which takes place at four sites across the UK on Tuesday. Several players, including some close to the top of the betting, will take part and that means at most just a single day's preparation here at Eichenried. It didn't stop Matthew Southgate last year, but it probably will stop some.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and David Puig are two of the more high-profile entrants and it's enough to put me off the former, who I've sided with a couple of times lately in anticipation of his breakthrough DP World Tour win.

Neergaard-Petersen is a two-time winner of the German Amateur who also won the German Challenge and was seventh in this event on an invite two years ago so it's one I've had down as ideal for a while, but 36 holes in the Kent sunshine is a worry. Plus, he was the same price in a considerably weaker field last time we backed him.

Preference then is for another bright young star of the circuit, EUGENIO CHACARRA.

Winner of the Indian Open in March, he had every chance to follow up in China a few weeks later and has generally continued to impress. We have to give him a pass for a narrow missed cut in the PGA Championship, after which he started well in Austria and then was undone by windy, links-like conditions in the Netherlands.

Neither of those two courses would've suited and to be honest I don't think last week's in Italy was ideal, yet he was tied for the lead early in the final round before eventually settling for seventh. That means he's up to 15th in the Race to Dubai from just nine starts, a PGA Tour card now very much in sight.

It is Chacarra's debut here and I've just a small concern over his accuracy, but it was good to see him produce his best driving performance of the season at Argentario, where big misses were punished severely. His iron play has remained solid and he has the makings of an excellent putter, too, so if he can be as effective off the tee then he'll have few problems with Eichenried.

The other factor I find intriguing is the presence of Garcia, Puig and Jose Ballester in this field. That's three members of the Fireballs team from which Chacarra was effectively dropped when his contract expired, and it's clear he felt let down by his experience on the circuit. That wasn't the fault of his teammates, he says, but even so I wonder if he might just have a little point to prove.

Regardless, last week's effort on a less-than-suitable course looks a potentially big hint and as he's not taking part in Open qualifying, Chacarra has ample time to get comfortable around the classical, straightforward, parkland course. It's by no means easy, but there are no tricks and in recent years, debutants have done just fine.

Laurie at a Canter?

If there is a course profile then it can be found with a quick glance at last year's main contenders, Jordan Smith and the eventual champion, Ewen Ferguson. Both are fairway-finding, greens-hitting ball-strikers in the most traditional sense and a year before them, Joost Luiten, who fits the same description, really ought to have won this title.

Jayden Schaper is cut from similar cloth but this is tougher than Italy and no more suitable, so I'll take the riskier but better value LAURIE CANTER.

Had this event taken place at the beginning of the season, Canter would've been half the price he is now and less than that again. In fact the odds from Bahrain are illustrative: Reed played and was the same price he is this week, Puig played and so was he, and Canter was around the 22/1 mark.

Bear in mind he went on to win and then was second in South Africa not long after, you'd be looking at having him about Puig's price if you chalked it up again but the reason he isn't is quite obvious: he's since gone MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-55.

However, these events were The PLAYERS, the Masters, the Zurich Classic, the PGA Championship, the KLM Open and, latterly, the US Open, where he finished a respectable 55th. Only the KLM can be labelled a real concern, yet he didn't have conditions to suit and happened to produce his worst putting display in almost four years.

It leaves us guessing as to the state of his game but I don't mind that given the price pay-off (he was second-favourite in the Netherlands, too) and the golf course. It really ought to be the kind that he loves, as he's a very similar player to his friend, Smith, only better off the tee and, recently, much more prolific. I also like that he contended at Galgorm Castle in 2020, as that course is such a fabulous pointer to this one.

Canter's breakthrough win happened to arrive in Germany for good measure and I do really love his game for Eichenried, which he's only played twice. He showed promise here on debut in 2017 when nowhere near the player he is now, then in 2022 shot a second-round 66 before fading, at a time when his form was iffy and there was a big, LIV-shaped distraction.

Back now as an established performer who sits fourth in the Race to Dubai, first in this field in points earned per event and with a first, a second and a third from just five DP World Tour starts this year, I simply didn't think we'd be getting these prices anytime soon.

In the circumstances I feel compelled to take a chance, in the hope that an improved US Open display sets him up for a big summer.

I was close to chancing talented maiden Sam Bairstow too, as he's drifted a long way for a poor KLM Open in bad weather followed by a missed cut at Oakmont. He fought hard to restore respectability in round two and his strong, accurate driving and improved iron play make him a nice fit, but he's another due to take part in Open qualifying.

Instead, DANIEL HILLIER might be capable of producing a repeat of his 2023 debut when finishing third despite a cold putter.

That club has been a problem for the New Zealander in the past but prior to a backwards step last week, it'd been largely excellent. His approach play certainly has been and while I'd like him to be a bit more accurate off the tee, he drove the ball superbly in this event two years ago.

Having made 11 cuts in 13 this season his game is in a much better place than it was last year, when missing the cut, and both his victory at the Belfry and previous third place at Galgorm Castle confirm that this is the right kind of course.

Hillier is a strong ball-striker who has ranked 17th and sixth in strokes-gained approach across his last two appearances, but wouldn't have enjoyed being forced into defensive mode off the tee in Italy. Here, there's much more of a risk-reward dynamic, some corners you can cut as is true at the Brabazon, and he should benefit.

His last top-10 finish came in the Hainan Classic, where he was able to use that power of his, but his standout performance this year came when runner-up in the Dubai Desert Classic. Also very much risk-reward, that's another course which rates a good comparison, and we've recent wins for Viktor Hovland and Haotong Li at each to prove it.

Across his last five starts at a range of courses, Hillier has been the best driver, ranked sixth in approach play, seventh around the greens, and seventh in putting. He therefore looks close and, rather than have to figure out a new venue or adapt to one that doesn't really suit, now he comes to one which helped launch his career.

Connor Syme launched his with a dominant victory in the KLM Open and having withdrawn last week, is a big price with a few firms at 100/1. Most have him half that which seems about right given his course form and the fact that he doesn't carry any fitness concerns, the withdrawal due to a family bereavement.

He's of interest at the pick of the prices but not the generally available ones so I'll side with JOOST LUITEN instead.

As with Canter, we're getting a bigger price because of the KLM Open but while a few from the top 10 have come out and played well again since, it was an event where the wind made things really difficult and anyone can be excused a poor performance.

Luiten's customarily strong iron play abandoned him, no doubt weather-related, but he was strong off the tee again and I'd rather rely on the previous dozen starts than one isolated result when it comes to assessing his game.

Ninth in strokes-gained off-the-tee and third in strokes-gained approach, Luiten has been back to his ball-striking best this year and if he lands on a good putting week at the right golf course, then he's sure to have chances to win.

Note how closely aligned he is with Ferguson and Smith in how he goes about gaining strokes off the tee and that can absolutely work around Eichenried, hence some superb long-game numbers when runner-up to Thriston Lawrence two years ago.

Luiten ought to have won, missing a very short putt at the 17th hole on Sunday then unable to birdie the 18th, and there would have to be some concerns that it's been a long time between drinks. However, this is the right place for the drought to end as he's also been third, 10th, 11th and 14th, and he's another not in Open qualifying.

Freshened up by a break and a bigger price than when put up here last year, I'm very happy going in again at 40/1 and bigger. He fits the bill perfectly and should play well under much more suitable conditions than he was met with on home soil.

Jens Dantorp, Joe Dean and DAVIS BRYANT are the three most appealing outsiders and as Bryant is the biggest price, the one with the most potential and the only one of the trio who isn't in Open qualifying, he gets the vote.

Bryant is still a bit of an unknown having come through all three stages of Qualifying School last year and he's had to mix tours on a limited schedule, only just sneaking into this field despite finishing 10th in Italy.

Despite a couple of top-10s on the HotelPlanner Tour that was Bryant's best performance to date as a professional and it confirmed what we've seen so far: that he's a really tidy, solid player whose iron play is his strength, making him a potentially good fit for Eichenried.

Given that he was 82nd after round one at Argentario I thought it was a really taking performance, before which he'd narrowly missed the cut in the Netherlands and previously been 19th through three rounds in Austria. He also played well enough when selected in Turkey, after a good 23rd in the Hainan Classic.

All in all it's been a solid start to life as a professional and having been a very good amateur who has won some nice titles at a lower level back home, he's one who could be worth keeping close throughout the rest of the season, particularly when he returns to the US for a couple of co-sanctioned events if he can get a start.

This week, I also like the fact there's a little altitude to deal with – Bryant is from Colorado – and if the putter fires he might just surprise a few at massive odds.

Finally, I will admit I've spent a while going back and forth on JORGE CAMPILLO but at 50/1 and upwards he's a big enough price and earns the vote.

Campillo's record here in recent years reads 20-3-15-14 and is reason enough for siding with him, 14 of his last 15 rounds at Eichenried having been par or better.

But it's the fact that he's generally arrived out of sorts which suggests he really does relish the place. In 2017 he'd been in and out but gone 40-MC in his only two recent starts, third place on his next visit in 2021 was by far his best result so far that year, in 2022 he'd been playing OK but not brilliantly, and in 2023 he'd gone badly off the boil.

This time he's made four of five cuts since the Tour returned to Europe and two of them have been excellent: second in Turkey when passed by Martin Couvra on the final day, and seventh in the Netherlands. These are the only two occasions he's produced top-20 putting displays all year, and immediately that's been enough to contend.

Everything bar the putter fired in Italy and in the hope that club comes good again, which it might given that he has almost always putted well here, then he has to be a player. Maybe this is slightly too strong a field but I wouldn't be so sure, especially if a few of them have the edge taken off – either by flying or qualifying.

Posted at 1900 BST on 30/06/25

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