European Open 2024 Preview, Picks & Analysis

Green Eagle Golf Club in Hamburg hosts the 41st edition of the European Open this week, with a number of home golfers believing they can deliver for the German fans.

Twelve months ago Marcel Siem and Max Kieffer came agonisingly close to winning on home soil. They finished joint runners-up behind young Irish sensation Tom McKibbin, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory in sensational style.

All three will be teeing it up again, alongside the likes of Rasmus Hojgaard, Bernd Wiesberger, Haotong Li, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Pablo Larrazabal, Jesper Svensson and Danny Willett.

Former Masters champion Willett surprised even himself with a solid performance at Augusta, where he was returning to action after shoulder surgery. "I can’t wait to head over to Hamburg for the European Open this year and hopefully it will be a great week," said Willett. "I had six months away from the game after undergoing surgery on my left shoulder. After putting in a lot of hard work into my rehab and working with the team around me, I’m buzzing to get back out on the course.

"I’m looking forward to teeing it up at Green Eagle and we always receive great support in Germany from the fans. I enjoy playing in Germany and in 2012 I was able to get my first win on the DP World Tour," said the 36-year-old, who has also won the Dubai World Championship, BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

The former top ten player in the world will be up against highly motivated German starters on his debut. After four second places in five years Germany is hoping to crown its first German winner of the prestigious tournament since Bernhard Langer in 1995. The North Course at Green Eagle, with its rousing atmosphere, has always been a great place for the top German golfers.

"The atmosphere last year was fantastic," said Kieffer, while Siem added: "I've never experienced such an outstanding atmosphere at a German tournament - it was by far the best tournament in terms of atmosphere. It is also one of the best tests of the year on the Tour."

In 2023, McKibbin started the final day in a six-way tie for the lead but held his nerve to win his first DP World Tour title at the tender age of 20. He carded a final round of 70 in Hamburg to finish nine under par, two shots ahead of home favourites Siem and Kieffer, and France's Julien Guerrier.

McKibbin, who learned the game at the same club as four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, began the day in a six-way tie for the lead but birdied the fourth, seventh and ninth to move two shots clear.

Bogeys on the 11th and 13th, coupled with Kieffer's birdie on the 16th, saw the pair tied at the top of the leaderboard, but McKibbin edged back in front with a birdie on the 15th and set up another on the par-five 18th with a nerveless second shot from 203 yards.

McKibbin, who was making just his 26th start on the DP World Tour, said: "It's pretty amazing. It was just nice to go out there and put a really, really nice round together. I always thought I was good enough to win but to prove it today was pretty special.

"I've learned a lot from failures, missing cuts by a shot, missing things very slightly so to take all those things I've learned and put them into play today was really nice. It probably won't sink in until tomorrow but to have my dad here - he comes most weeks - is pretty special. To win in front of him is amazing."

Asked about his second shot to the 18th, McKibbin added: "It's probably one of the best shots I've hit. It was sort of tricky and it wasn't. I was trying to hit just at the right edge of the green and if it turned over I knew the water wasn't in play because if I turned it over it would have went further.

"It looked really good on camera I'm sure, but it was an easier shot than laying up and hitting over the water I thought.” In truth, he has not really kicked on in the way most of us expected but there have been some decent performances this year and he will surely draw inspiration from defending his title in Germany.

"We are incredibly excited about the European Open this year," said Tournament Director Dirk Glittenberg. "We saw in 2023 what an inspiring atmosphere is created in the natural grandstands at Green Eagle Golf Courses when the title is at stake. Goosebumps are already inevitable. The impressive atmosphere on this great course for fans, plus top-class golf and a spectacular live experience with side events around the famous Ferris wheel - we are looking forward to this event with great excitement, which once again guarantees a first-class golf spectacle."

Keita Nakajima will be looking to continue Japan’s extraordinary season. He had a glittering amateur career in which he spent a record 87 weeks at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking, surpassing Jon Rahm’s previous record of 60 weeks. In addition to a host of amateur titles in his native Japan, Nakajima won the Australian Amateur Championship and Asian Games in 2018. 

He followed in his close friend Takumi Kanaya’s footsteps when he won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2021, earning debut appearances in both The Masters and The Open before turning professional in 2022. He also played in the US Open that year after winning the prestigious Mark McCormack trophy in 2021, which he also won the following year.

He won on the Japan Golf Tour as an amateur in 2021 at the Panasonic Open. Won three times on his home Tour in 2023 as he went on to finish the year as the Order of Merit winner, earning playing rights for the 2024 Race to Dubai. And he claimed a maiden DP World Tour title on just his 11th start at the 2024 Hero Indian Open, going wire-to-wire at DLF Golf & Country Club to win by four strokes. Nakajima just could be the real deal.

Tournament Winners: 

It was won in 2015 by Thongchai Jaidee, in 2016 by Alex Levy, in 2017 by Jordan Smith, in 2018 by Richard McEvoy, in 2019 by Paul Casey, in 2021 by Marcus Armitage, in 2022 by Kalle Samooja and last year by Tom McKibbin. There was no tournament in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The Course: 

Green Eagle is a monster. It measures 7,603 yards and is a par 73. The back nine measures 4,359 yards and features four par fives. The 16th is a whopping 705 yards and is that rarest of beasts - a genuine three-shotter. Only the straightest of hitters will score well here.

Form Guide:

Keita Nakajima had a fabulous amateur career and has wasted no time living up to his potential.

To Win:

Keita Nakajima. Class act

Each Way:

Rasmus Hojgaard. Enjoying a successful season

Each Way:

Marcel Siem. Wears his heart on his sleeve

Five to Follow:

Keita Nakajima. Could be Japan’s next big thing

Rasmus Hojgaard. Hugely talented

Marcel Siem. Loves playing in Germany

Tom McKibbin. Hasn’t really kicked on

Jordan Smith. Terrific ball striker

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Bernd Wiesberger. Looking for a way back

Oliver Wilson. You never know what you are going to get

Callum Sinkwin. Hits the ball a mile

Scott Jamieson. Can go really low - or very high

Edoardo Molinari. Still has his moments