By Matt Smith
Li Haotong took a one-stroke lead into the weekend at the BMW International Open after carding a second-round 67 at Golfclub München Eichenried.

Seeking his first DP World Tour win since the 2018 Dubai Desert Classic, Li, from China, followed up Thursday’s course-record equalling 10-under par round with a five under 67 for a 15-under total.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, already a winner this season at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic, is bogey-free through 36 holes in the Bavarian state capital as he carded an eagle and six birdies, with his last gain of the day coming on the 18th hole to move to within a stroke of Li.

Daan Huizing is two strokes further back on 12-under par after a three-under round of 69, following on from a first-round 63. In a share of fourth are 2016 Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters and Englishman Jordan Smith, who is seeking a second DP World Tour win on German soil, on 11-under, while Maximilian Kieffer leads the home charge in solo sixth on 10-under par.

“I’m feeling great,” said Li. “I think I’ve only missed two cuts this year. It’s been working, especially off the tee, I’ve improved a lot and it’s back to where I was. I just need to keep grinding, keep improving and showing up.

“I was feeling the pressure on the last few holes. Hopefully I can just play my golf and keep calm.

“To be honest, I didn’t drive the ball as well as yesterday. My short game was okay. It depends when you get in the rough, the lie could be really bad, or it could be good. Sometimes you just need luck.”

RAK champ Fox: “I’m really happy. I did everything right the last couple of days and my short game has been really tidy — that’s been a big positive. I don’t think I’ve ever gone bogey-free for 36 holes. I’m happy and in with a chance over the weekend again.

“(Li’s score) proved there was a low number out there. We had a really nice group, I really enjoyed playing with Billy and Tom. We got it going for a while and fed off each other. It’s nice to be up there and shoot a decent score today and be there or thereabouts for tomorrow.

“I had a couple of really good shots just before the rain delay and I was really disappointed we stopped. Obviously we had no choice, it was pretty dark out there. It was a little scratchy the first couple of holes coming back, but I made a nice birdie on 11 and then a 35-footer on 14, then hit some good shots coming home after that. It took a little more to get the rhythm back, but I was happy that the half-scratchy shots I hit were still not that bad. That’s what golf’s about right? It’s not how good your good is, it’s how good your bad is, and my bad has been pretty good the last couple of days.”

Huizing added: “It was definitely not as smooth as yesterday but you can’t expect to shoot nine-under every day. I’m happy I got it to three-under with the way I played, it’s a good score. There’s definitely a couple of things to clean up, but that’s OK. We’re in a great position and that’s where I want to be.”

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The post Fox in the hunt as Li Haotong stays ahead in Munich appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
The closing hole on the Golfclub Munchen Eichenreid course is a 568-yard par 5 that doglegs sharply right-to-left around a water hazard. As such it is not a hole that suits Andrea Pavan. Not up to hitting driver, the 30-year-old Italian used his trusty 3-wood from that 18th tee six times during the BMW International Open and not once was able to reach the distant green in two shots.

All of which now matters not at all. With an unlikely birdie on his “bogey hole,” the former Texas A&M golfer (he was a member of the 2009 NCAA winning team) beat Matt Fitzpatrick on the second hole of their sudden-death playoff to claim his second European Tour title.

It came down to this: After hitting his tee shot way right into rough, Pavan half-smothered his next shot into the long grass on the other side of the fairway. The lie was better than expected though, and from there Pavan struck a wedge to less than three feet. When Fitzpatrick was unable to get up-and-down from sand short of the putting surface, it was all over.

Still, while Pavan ultimately relied more than a little on the misfortunes of others, his earlier play was a lot more distinguished. Starting four strokes off the pace, the eventual champion shot his lowest round of the season, a bogey-free six-under-par 66.

“This is amazing to be honest,” said Pavan, who arrived in Germany ranked 133rd in the world but left 32nd on the Race to Dubai. “I was playing very well coming into this week. And I thought I had a chance starting the day. I got off to a good start [three birdies in the first six holes], but hit a few bad drives, my Achilles heel. I’m happy I have a strong 3-wood and 2-iron. That 18th hole is not the best for me, without driver. But I somehow managed to make birdie.

“I was feeling rushed when I got to my third shot in the playoff. I was out of position. But I got a decent lie. And it came out great. I’m glad it finished so close. Winning is so hard.”

Indeed, even as Pavan walked off the 18th green having finished on 15 under par, victory appeared to be in the hands of Fitzpatrick. Standing on the 16th tee, the former Ryder Cup player needed to play the last three holes in one under par to notch up his sixth European Tour title. With a drivable par 4 and a reachable par 5 to go, the young Englishman appeared to be in good shape.

It wasn’t to be, however. Having driven through the 16th green, Fitzpatrick needed three to get down, missing from five feet after a weak chip. A bogey, his only dropped shot of the day, followed at the short 17th, where he found sand off the tee, before a birdie on the last, courtesy of a brilliant 3-wood into the middle of the green, salvaged a spot in the playoff.

Others could have joined that party too, most notably Fitzpatrick’s playing partner, Matt Wallace. But that notion disappeared as the World No. 24—and the Race to Dubai leade —twice found water on the 18th en route to a bogey 6 that dropped him into a cosmopolitan seven-way tie for third place alongside South African Christian Bezuidenhout, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Alvaro Quiros of Spain, Italian Edoardo Molinari, Matthias Schwab of Austria and Jordan Smith from England.

One last thing. Lee Westwood’s T-10 finish was his 165th top-10 on his home circuit, fifth best all-time.

The post Andrea Pavan outlasts Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff to win the BMW International Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.