There's a heavy PGA Tour presence at the top of the market for the Porsche European Open, and it's little wonder these proven travellers are being given so much respect ahead of the third renewal of this event to be played at the massive Green Eagle in Hamburg.

Paul Casey and Patrick Reed have both had chances to win here and arrive in form, while Matt Kuchar has enjoyed another fruitful year, but it's Xander Schauffele whose name stands out - not least because it has more than a Germanic twang.

Schauffele's great grandad, Richard, played football for Stuttgart just after the first World War, and his uncle Johann was capped at international level by Austria. His dad, meanwhile, was hoping to add to the family's sporting heritage by competing in the Olympics as a decathlete representing Germany, only for a car crash with a drunk driver to rob him of that opportunity.

After that, Stefan Schauffele decided to abandon Germany and make California home, where he met Ping Yi, overcame an almighty language barrier and, eventually, became father to a boy named Alexander. That boy has quickly established himself as a particularly tough competitor, one who prides himself on winning, and the in-form world number nine could well make the journey to his father's homeland worthwhile with the fifth title of his professional career.

It's little wonder the opening 10/1 has long gone, particularly as Schauffele has a win in China and near-misses in places like Scotland and Japan to add to the evidence that he can win anywhere on earth. Green Eagle, a big, parkland, American-style course which can play as long as 7,836 yards, is an ideal venue for one of the most complete players in the sport and he'd have been a bet at just a little bigger than the revised 13/2.