The European Tour heads from Switzerland to the Netherlands this week for one of its most established events – the KLM Open. There is a big tournament in America that this one is competing with so this is not the strongest field ever but with Ryder Cup points up for grabs for Europeans along with the usual competitive benefits we should see some strong golf.
Recent Winners
2016 – Joost Luiten
2015 – Thomas Pieters
2014 – Paul Casey
2013 – Joost Luiten
2012 – Peter Hanson
2011 – Simon Dyson
2010 – Martin Kaymer
2009 – Simon Dyson
2008 – Darren Clarke
2007 – Ross Fisher
The Course
The Dutch is the host venue for the second time this week. The course is a par 71 which measures 6,983 yards so it is not overly long but it can be challenging especially if the wind blows as the track is very exposed.
The fairways are of average size this week and have some undulations on them while the rough is consistent and fairly penal. The greens are very big and very undulating so the key to this course is playing it from the fairway so that the flags can be attacked in the right areas on the greens rather than leaving the ball miles from the hole which is three putt territory.
Clean ball strikers who can play in the wind are the ones to focus on this week. The better the putter they are the better their chance but it is not essential if the long game has then hitting the right parts of the green.
The Field
The defending champion Joost Luiten is here looking to win his home title for a third time. He is joined by a host of decent Europeans and even a major champion in the form of Padraig Harrington.
Bernd Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, Andy Sullivan and Julian Suri are all European Tour winners who are in the field. There are also plenty of players who are ready to win teeing it up in a competitive, if a little low key, field.
Market Leaders
Last year’s 1-2 Joost Luiten and Bernd Wiesberger are the 16/1 and 18/1 favourites this week. I’m not convinced Luiten is in the form required to win this although admittedly he is going to be up for it playing at home. Wiesberger hasn’t done much for a while which is a big concern. I’ll happily pass both of those over.
Lee Westwood is the 25/1 third favourite to land his 501st European Tour start. He certainly ticks plenty of boxes in terms of his profile. He is a good ball striker and very familiar with good golf in the wind but aside from a top 10 in the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago his form is not great.
Ryan Fox is in very good form and there is nothing to suggest he can’t go well in this tournament. He can be backed at 25/1 as well. Recent winner in Denmark, Julian Suri, is a 28/1 poke while David Horsey is slightly bigger at 30/1 and both would look to have realistic chances to me. It is 33/1 bar those named.
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Main Bets
It looks like we are in for a linksy feel with some pretty indifferent weather forecast so I’m placing a massive emphasis on players who can cope when the wind blows and the elements are at their worst.
With that in mind my first bet is Andy Sullivan. He is known to play well in the wind. He has top 10s in Scotland and the Nordea this year and was also in the top 10 in Scotland last year too. Another top 10 he has on his record came in Ireland in 2015 when conditions turned as bad as I can remember so the tougher it gets this week the better his chance may be. He has been driving the ball fantastically well recently but hasn’t got the scores he has deserved from that. In a week where scoring may be tougher he might well benefit. Sully is sliding down the rankings but a good week here will turn his curve in the right direction. He looks a fair bet at 30/1.
Another player who went well in the aforementioned tournament in Ireland two years ago was Eddie Pepperell. He lost in a play-off in that event and has shown a number of times since then that he can cope both with the wind and links conditions. He was fourth in the 2015 Scottish Open and led the field in the third round in 2016 before the magnitude of where he was caught up with him. We also saw at the US Open this year how he likes links golf. He was in the top 20 there in a stellar field. He has back to back top five finishes in this tournament in 2014 and 2015 so he ticks every box for a big week especially as he arrives here off the back of a top five in the Czech Republic two weeks ago.
Outsiders
Whenever links conditions come to the fore I never look too far from Anthony Wall and I’m happy to be on the big man again this week. He won the PL Matchplay on a links course last year and already in 2017 he has finished in the top 20 in Ireland and the top five in Scotland. He got back in the swing of things last week after missing the big events in America and that tune up should have him right for a big week here.
Austin Connelly really shot to prominence in The Open at Royal Birkdale in July but prior to that he made the match play day of the tournament in Perth and was in the top 10 in the Nordea Masters. He is one of the best putters on the Tour and with so many North American winners of events at the minute I’m sure he will be inspired by that. Connelly showed really good temperament when the conditions got tough at Birkdale which should serve him well here and at 150/1 I think he’s worth a go this week.
Tips
Back A.Sullivan to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back E.Pepperell to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back A.Wall to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
PLACED – Back A.Connelly to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Betbright (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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Outstanding tip on Austin Connelly Kev, very unlucky not to win outright.
Cheers mate. I had my hopes up when Wattel’s third to the last came up well short but it was short lived!