BMW International Open 2014: A preview and best bets for this week's Euro Tour event

Germany will welcome home a conquering hero when new US Open champion Martin Kaymer lines up in this week's BMW International Open.

After dominating the field and scoring a wire-to-wire victory at Pinehurst, Kaymer will now be looking to win this event for the second time.

His first victory came in 2008 when he edged out Anders Hansen in a play-off to become the first home winner in the tournament's then 20-year history.

That win came at Golfclub München Eichenried but this week's event takes place at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof where Kaymer missed the cut when it staged the event for the first and only time in 2012.

Two-time major winner Kaymer shares favouritism with Sweden's Henrik Stenson.

World No 2 Stenson was tied sixth at this venue two years ago (just two shots out of a play-off) while he won the event in Munich in 2006 and made the top 10 in 2008, 2011 and 2013 so he's been a big player in this event.

Sergio Garcia also makes the return to Europe, still probably bemused by how he didn't at least get to contest a play-off at the Travelers Championship on Sunday. The Spaniard lost by one to Kevin Streelman who, astonishingly, birdied the final seven holes.

England's Danny Willett won here in 2012 and is likely to be a popular punt having finished tied third in the Irish Open last week.

In the spirit of the World Cup, some of the leading names got the chance to show off their soccer skills in the build-up when they donned their national team's football shirts and attempted to kick balls into an extra large hole on the 18th green.

Garcia, a decent footballer, was hoping to restore national pride after Spain's shock early exit from Brazil while others who enjoyed the light-hearted kickabout before the serious golf stuff starts on Thursday included Stenson (Sweden), Marcel Siem (Germany), John Daly (USA), Victor Dubuisson (France), Willett (England), Francesco Molinari (Italy), Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) and Ricardo Santos (Portugal).

The winner was Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, who told europeantour.com: "Now I know why Austria did not qualify for the World Cup. They knew beforehand that I would be playing at the BMW International Open during the World Cup, so would be unable to join them in Brazil!"

The course

Whereas Golfclub München Eichenried used to produce a total birdie-fest with winning scores such as -27 (John Daly 2001), -24 (Robert Karlsson 1997, Thomas Bjorn 2001), -23 (David Howell 2005) and -22 (Nick Dougherty 2009), the one tournament played here at Gut Lärchenhof in 2012 was won with just 11-under. A wet and windy final round was largely responsible with winner Danny Willett, who posted a closing 73, saying later: "It was a tough day - it was brutal with the wind whipping and it was raining." Gut Lärchenhof is a 7,228 yard par 71 or, as we're in Germany, 6,611 metres. The venue was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1996. It has water hazards on half the holes while the greens are "firm" according to the European Tour website.

Weather

The forecast in Cologne this week suggests temperatures in the low 20s. In a possible repeat of 2012, the final day could see rain (60% chance) although the wind is set to be minimal all week.

Conclusion

A 10th place in this event last year sparked an incredible run from Henrik Stenson which resulted in him becoming the first man to win both the Race To Dubai and FedEx Cup in the s