The European Tour season continues this week when it rolls into the Netherlands for the KLM Open. The flagship event of the campaign takes place next week but despite that there is a good enough field competing for the title here.
Ashun Wu stunned a decent field to win the tournament last year and he’ll attempt to defend the title this week although he’ll try and do so on a different course to the one he won on, which brings plenty of variables into play.
Recent Winners
2018 – Ashun Wu
2017 – Romain Wattell
2016 – Joost Luiten
2015 – Thomas Pieters
2014 – Paul Casey
2013 – Joost Luiten
2012 – Peter Hanson
2011 – Simon Dyson
2010 – Martin Kaymer
2009 – Simon Dyson
The Course
The tournament moves to The International in Amsterdam this week and other than the pure yardages we’re a little in the dark this week. The course is a par 73, that much we do know and it measures just 6,966 yards with five par 5s all of which look reachable in two shots with 559 yards the longest of them.
That would suggest to me that we are going to see a low scoring tournament but there are pictures which suggests there is a bit of water around the track so accuracy will need to be in play at some point. I’m still going to be looking among the bigger hitters who cream the par 5s and who get hot with the putter for a way in this week though.
The Field
The former Masters champion Patrick Reed headlines the field this week. To be fair it isn’t the strongest field we’ll see in Europe this season but with the big one this side of the pond next week and three more popular events in the next month it is kind of understandable that most of the top names are keeping their powder dry here.
Local hero Joost Luiten is also in the field for this tournament while recent Czech Masters winner Thomas Pieters is also here to win another title. Matt Wallace, Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer all add a strong element to proceedings while the likes of Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Thomas Detry, Gavin Green and Sam Horsfield will all be eyeing up a maiden tour win. Lee Westwood will be looking for another in a fine career.
Market Leaders
It is the big name in the field who is the market leader this week with Patrick Reed just a 9/1 shot to win the event. It was only a month or so ago that he was winning in New York and if he’s in that sort of form this week you would expect him to challenge deeply for the title. He feels a little short to me, as all the big players do to be fair with the big one on the horizon next week. You need Reed to win to make anything from him this week and I’m not sure that’s a guarantee. I’ll oppose him.
Thomas Pieters is a 14/1 second favourite to land a blow here. His win in the Czech Republic recently highlights that he’s in decent touch and you would think that with the five par 5s on show around here he’ll lap them up and should be right in the mix. He’s probably a leading contender but he’s about the right price these days, if not a little on the short side after his win last month.
Sergio Garcia comes third in the betting at 16/1 but his form has been pretty ordinary for far too long now and until he shows anything resembling an interest and a solid game he isn’t for me. You would think others with more length would be better suited to this test anyway so even as good as Garcia can be he can’t be for me at this price.
Joost Luiten is the other man at 16/1. If you look down the previous winners you’ll see his name on it twice but that was on different courses to this one. He will have the crowds with him this week though which is never a bad thing and he’ll probably have played here in the past. I wouldn’t completely rule him out but you feel home nation impact has come into his price and he looks a little skinny to me as a result.
Main Bets
I’ll go with a couple of main bets this week. I sense Matt Wallace will finish the season well with some big events coming up and I wouldn’t actually be surprised if he launches a late charge for the Race to Dubai title from the fifth position he is currently in. That can begin with a win this week on a course that should suit him well and against a field that in the main he should be too good for. Wallace sits in the top 30 in par 5 scoring which you would think has to be a factor this week given that there are five of the things. He’s fourth in putts per GIR this season and ranked 25 in strokes gained putting so he is nicely equipped for a big tilt round here.
Sam Horsfield sits ninth in putts per GIR on the European Tour this season and he was second in the putting stats in Germany last week with more birdies than anyone in the field. If he can keep the bogeys and worse off the card this week you would think he has every chance of another strong finish. Horsfield has all the length required to tame this test and if he ploughs into the par 5s I would be surprised if he is far away as I expect him to tighten up his game here. He looks a perfectly fair price this week.
Outsiders
I’ll also chuck darts at three outsiders who should be competitive on this course layout. The first of those is Jamie Donaldson who I’ve backed a few times recently. Donaldson sits 16 in the par 5 scoring which I’m convinced is a big thing this week. We’ve seen recently too that he is improving with the short stick so he should be capable of competing in a low scoring contest should he keep the big numbers off the card. He’s 80/1 which feels like a fair price this week.
George Coetzee hasn’t had the best couple of weeks but this is the sort of track he should make hay on because he scores well on the par 5s and he is one of the best putters on the European Tour. He is long enough off the tee to gallop all over the par 5s around here and if he is dialled in in anyway with his irons I see no reason why he can’t go close. There is suggestion that there is a links feel about this track so the top 10 the South African managed in the Scottish Open bodes well. He was second in Qatar this season too so when it comes good he’s very competitive. I’ll pay to see how good he is this week.
Finally I’ll have a stab in the dark over Robert Karlsson who should be served well by the fact nobody has any history to go on around this track. He still hits the ball pretty pure and scores nicely on the par 5s and isn’t the worst putter going around. He’s 200/1 because his star might have waned a little in the recent past but he was right in contention at the Czech Masters a couple of weeks ago before an indifferent final day saw him drop to tenth. If he can play like that for four rounds here he shouldn’t be far away.
Tips
PLACED – Back M.Wallace to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 19.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back S.Horsfield to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
Back J.Donaldson to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back G.Coetzee to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back R.Karlsson to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
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