Michael Hollick holed a 20-foot eagle putt on the 18th at Golfclub München Eichenried to claim the 2026 BMW International Open and his maiden DP World Tour title, finishing one shot ahead of fellow South African Hennie du Plessis.

Hollick closed with a 67 to reach 18 under par, while du Plessis’ final-round 66 left him at 17-under in second place. The 39-year-old rookie had trailed by three shots with two holes to play before a late swing changed the outcome.

A back-nine duel

The final round began with both Hollick and overnight co-leader Bernd Wiesberger dropping shots inside the opening three holes, allowing du Plessis to join the logjam at 12-under after a birdie at the second. From there, the two South Africans traded blows through the middle of the round, matching birdies at the 11th and 13th to stay locked together at 16-under.

Du Plessis broke clear with birdies at the 14th and 15th to reach 18-under, while Hollick’s bogey at the 16th left him three adrift. Du Plessis led by three with two to play.

The final three holes

Du Plessis found trouble at the par-three 17th and dropped a shot to slip back to 17-under. Hollick, meanwhile, struck what he later called a perfect 5-iron to six feet and converted the birdie to cut the deficit to one.

At the 18th, du Plessis found a fairway bunker off the tee and scrambled to safety, two-putting for par to post 17-under as his target. Hollick took on a dangerous line off the final tee, narrowly avoiding the water hazard, then attacked the pin with his approach to leave roughly 20 feet for eagle. The putt dropped, setting off celebrations.

“After 16, I felt like I was probably too far behind to win it,” Hollick said. “But I hit two perfect 5-irons on 17 and 18, I could not have asked for any more.”

A long road to the top

Hollick turned professional in 2012 and spent much of his early career on the Sunshine Tour, where he won the 2015 Sun Sibaya Challenge. He also coached for a spell before returning to tournament golf and winning the Zimbabwe Open in 2024. He qualified for the last remaining DP World Tour card by placing seventh on the 2025 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, having previously gone to Q School twice without success.

His rookie season had already produced three top-10 finishes in his first four starts, including a solo fourth at the Australian Open that qualified him for The Open Championship.

“Thirty-nine years old and living out my dream, can’t ask for much more than that really,” Hollick said. “It’s amazing, honestly. Just giving myself and my family such an opportunity.”

Du Plessis’ wait continues

For du Plessis, who led after 36 holes and shared the 54-hole lead, Sunday’s result continued a pattern of near-misses. He had finished in the top five across three consecutive starts in Africa earlier in 2026, including a runner-up at the South African Open, without converting any into a first DP World Tour victory.

Rest of the leaderboard

Wiesberger finished three shots further back in third at 14-under. Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Carlos Ortiz shared fourth at 12-under, while local favourite Thomas Rosenmüller eagled the last to claim solo sixth. Ashun Wu and Joaquín Niemann tied for seventh at ten under.

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