One of the most underrated events on the European Tour takes place this week as the Nordea Masters is played out across in Sweden. After a wonderful BMW PGA Championship last week a drop off could be forgiven but this should be a decent event in its own right.
We have a good course and a decent field this week so we should be in for another excellent four days of golf on the Swedish/Danish border.
Recent Winners
2016 – Matthew Fitzpatrick
2015 – Alexander Noren
2014 – Thongchai Jaidee
2013 – Mikko Ilonen
2012 – Lee Westwood
2011 – Alexander Noren
2010 – Richard S. Johnson
2009 – Ricardo Gonzalez
2008 – Peter Hanson
2007 – Mikko Ilonen
The Course
This is one of those tournaments which shifts from course to course each year and this time around it is the turn of the Barseback Golf and Country Club in Malmo to host the tournament. The Masters Course at the coastal venue will be the course in play.
This is the first time since 2009 that the tournament has been held here. It is a lengthy beast at over 7,700 yards although with the wind and links feel to the place there will be a good deal of roll on the ball so it won’t play the full length. It is a par 73 too.
Fairways here are quite narrow although the rough isn’t too bad. Greens are big so those who putt well and find plenty of greens are likely to be best served here. Extra length of the tee could be beneficial too.
The Field
This isn’t the same quality of field that we saw at Wentworth last week but with a prestigious event going on in the United States it certainly isn’t a bad field. Club member Henrik Stenson and last week’s winner Alex Noren add star quality to the field.
Defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick is here to retain his title while a number of former winners are also in the field including Mikko Ilonen, Ricardo Gonzalez and Marc Warren. Lee Westwood, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan and Peter Hanson are all Ryder Cup players teeing it up here.
Market Leaders
Henrik Stenson is a 5/1 favourite to win on the course he is a member of this week. It is hard to go against that but at that price you’ve got to be pretty certain he will win to get involved and on a coastal course where the wind could have a say there has to be a risk attached to that.
BMW PGA champion Alex Noren is the 8/1 second favourite to land the title. He is brimming with confidence and as a two-time winner of the event he will be out for a hat trick of home titles. Defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick is next in the betting at 20/1 but he defends the title on a different course to the one he won on.
Lee Westwood has won this tournament on three previous occasions so he is very much at home in Sweden and he is 22/1 to regain the title with prolific winner Alex Levy a shade bigger at 25/1. It is 33/1 bar those named.
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Main Bets
I’m going with a couple of main bets this week. Although the course is long and links like I do feel there will be a premium on positioning the ball and not many do that better than Lee Westwood. Westwood went well for two rounds at Wentworth last week but faded over the weekend but he might have needed some rounds in the bank having had an extended break since The Masters. We know he goes well in Sweden, in the wind and on links layouts and at 22/1 I won’t shy away from him here.
Nicolas Colsaerts bases himself in Mauritius a lot these days so he should be used to a coastal contest and he arrives here off the back of a splendid weekend at Wentworth where nobody went lower with the exception of the winner. Colsaerts’ length should be an asset here and we know he can be streaky with his putting. The short stick started working at the weekend and if he remains hot this week he should go close.
Outsiders
I like three at big prices this week. I’ll take a chance on a Robert Karlsson who plays very well in windy conditions. He has a second and a third on this course and while that was a few years ago he was given a nice boost on the eve of the event when Thomas Bjorn named him as a Ryder Cup vice-captain. Karlsson was in the top 15 in Sicily a couple of weeks ago where he finished with a 66 and if he can repeat that he can be dangerous here.
Marcel Siem is another with a couple of top 10s around this track and he also plays well when there is an input from the air. He was inside the top 10 in the Rocco Forte Open two weeks ago and has good results in the majority of links tournaments. If he can drive it well this week there is every reason to suggest he’ll go fine at a big price.
Johan Carlsson set the early pace last week and while the going got too tough for him at the weekend I don’t think we should rule him out too quickly. He was in a really good position at the halfway stage in Sicily the week before but couldn’t maintain that over that weekend but if he can start well this week with a home crowd cheering him on he could be encouraged to keep his form enough to really contend.
Tips
Back L.Westwood to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 23.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back M.Siem to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back J.Carlsson to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 176.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
Back N.Colsaerts to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back R.Karlsson to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
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