After the excitement and drama of The Masters last week we are back to lesser lights in the European Tour this week. The Tour heads to Morocco for the Trophee Hassan II with many stars of Europe giving the event a miss after a hefty schedule of big events recently.
That will open the door for someone to make a name for themselves over the four days much in the way that Jeunghun Wang did last year when he nailed Nacho Elvira in a playoff to win the title.
Recent Winners
2016 – Jeunghun Wang
2015 – Richie Ramsay
2014 – Alejandro Canizares
2013 – Marcel Siem
2012 – Michael Hoey
2011 – David Horsey
2010 – Rhys Davies
The Course
For the second year in a row the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam is the course being used to stage the event. There has been a significant change to the course since last year with the eighth hole being extended back to a par 5 which makes the par now 73 rather than 72.
At 7,615 yards it is a bit of a beast although the humid air will make the ball fly a little bit further. The fairways are quite tight around this treelined track and the greens are fairly small. Last year the longer hitters seemed to have an advantage but previously the better putters have made themselves known on the leaderboard when this course has been used for tournaments. I’m not sure there’s much for the shorter hitters this week.
The Field
It isn’t the strongest field this week we need to make that clear but that won’t matter to the players who are in the field. Joost Luiten is probably the biggest name in the field but we have recent tournament winners Dean Burmester, Brandon Stone and the defending champion Jeunghun Wang teeing it up.
Those looking to return to glory days such as Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Bjorn and Jamie Donaldson also tee it up while Pablo Larrazabal leads the Spanish charge looking to carry the inspiration that Sergio Garcia gave them last week.
Market Leaders
Dean Burmester is the favourite this week. He is 16/1 to win a second European Tour event of the season. He hits it a long way and will be used to African conditions so he looks a fair favourite.
Joost Luiten is the 18/1 second favourite and if he is somewhere near his best he could lead this lot a merry dance but it has been a while since he has been at that level. Just like Dean Burmester, Brandon Stone will be eyeing up a second European Tour success of the campaign. He is 22/1, the same price as the defending champion Jeunghun Wang.
It highlights both the weakness and the competitiveness of the field that it is 30/1 bar those four men this week. If you can find the winner there is every chance you’ll be nicely rewarded.
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Main Bets
It is hard to get a strong betting feel for this tournament because this has been the first normal European Tour event for a month and most of these haven’t played in a while so gauging form isn’t easy. I am going with two main bets though.
I’ve been waiting for a chance to get on Mikko Korhonen for a while. The Finn has put up a couple of top five efforts this season including in his last tournament at the Tshwane Open where he was among the best putters. That’s no surprise to me because I’ve noticed his putting for a while and this week feels like the time to put that to use. Korhonen is long enough off the tee and with him likely to hole more putts than many he looks a leading contender in my eyes.
The form and fitness of Victor Dubuisson has been in question for a while now but he is an eye catching attendee to this tournament and I don’t see why he would be here if he didn’t fancy his chances. The fact he is here should ensure we can take his fitness as given and if he is anywhere near his best he should be too good for this lot especially on a course like this one which he can express himself and overpower. We are taking a bit of a chance on those question marks but at 50/1 I’m happy to pay to get the answers.
Outsiders
I’m going to take a couple of outsiders too with one of those being on the man who led after 54 holes here last year in Chris Hanson. He found the going a bit too tough on the final day 12 months ago but he has some decent form this year with five top 30 finishes after plenty more good efforts after this tournament last year. If a return to a place with decent enough memories gets that bit extra out of him he shouldn’t be far away.
I would imagine the Spanish contingent teeing it up this week will draw plenty of inspiration from Sergio Garcia’s win last weekend and one of those who I fancy could go well is Carlos Pigem. Pigem already has a couple of top five finishes this season and another decent effort in Hong Kong. Pigem can get it out there when the need arises and he could be a dark horse this week.
Tips
Back M.Korhonen to win Trophee Hassan II (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back V.Dubuisson to win Trophee Hassan II (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back C.Hanson to win Trophee Hassan II (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with BetBright (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back C.Pigem to win Trophee Hassan II (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 76.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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