The BMW International Open is celebrating a milestone anniversary next year. The iconic German tournament will take place for the 35th time, and a very special sportsman has already confirmed he will be playing. Bernhard Langer, the most successful German golfer, will tee off at the tournament that he, more than most, has helped shape in the past. The new date at the start of July offers German golf fans the opportunity to give the two-time Masters champion a worthy send-off. Langer will be making his final appearance on the DP World Tour.

Tickets for the 35th BMW International Open are available online now – with a 10 percent Christmas discount until 24th December 2023: www.bmw-golfsport.com/tickets

“I am very much looking forward to the 35th BMW International Open, which is particularly important to me. I was there the first time it was held in 1989, and only missed two tournaments up to the 25th anniversary,” said Langer. “Even though I have been playing on the PGA Tour Champions in the USA for years, I still find it hard to imagine a more atmospheric tournament to bid farewell to the DP World Tour than the BMW International Open. I grew up in Anhausen, near Augsburg, and worked as a golf instructor for three and a half years in Munich before turning pro on the Tour, so it is great to experience another fantastic tournament in my Bavarian home.”

The 66-year-old will play at the BMW International Open for the first time since 2012. Even back then, Langer’s golfing CV was already extraordinary: two Masters wins, six Ryder Cup victories (five as a player and one as captain), the first world number one when the world ranking list was introduced in 1986, and a member of the “World Golf Hall of Fame” – to name but a few of his achievements.

In the meantime, Langer has added a host of records on the PGA Tour Champions to his impressive list of successes. In 2017, he became the first golfer ever to win all five majors at least once. This July, at the age of 65 years, ten months and five days, he claimed his 46th tournament win and twelfth major title – two unrivalled achievements – at the US Senior Open. Langer not only tops the list of oldest winners on the PGA Tour Champions, but occupies all of the top five places.

Given this – abridged – list of highlights in what has been a phenomenal sporting career, it is a shame that he has never managed to win the BMW International Open in his home of Bavaria. However, Langer does hold one record, namely in 23 appearances, he has finished runner-up on no fewer than five occasions (1992, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007). That is more than any other player in the long history of the tournament – and an impressive effort in its own right.

The new date on the DP World Tour calendar means there is a better chance than ever that Langer will be joined by more top-class contenders when the BMW International Open celebrates its big anniversary. Having always been held immediately after the US Open in recent years, the tournament has been moved to later in the year. It now precedes the Scottish Open and The Open, which both take place in Europe in the two weeks following the BMW International Open. This new date makes it easier and more appealing for top players to incorporate the tournament in their own personal schedules.