With the FedEx Cup playoffs taking a week off this week the European Tour gets the sole attention in men’s golf and fittingly it stages one of its longest running tournaments – the KLM Open.
This is the 96th running of the Dutch event and with the test of golf it provides it always attracts a high standard of field and this week is no different.
Paul Casey relaunched his career with the title here 12 months ago but given his exploits in America these days he doesn’t defend the title. That leaves Martin Kaymer as the 9/1 favourite this week.
The tournament comes from the wonderfully challenging Kennemer Golf and Country Club, as it has done ever since 2013. The course is one of the shortest the Tour plays on. It is a par 70 but only measures 6,626 yards so it really isn’t long at all.
A few of the holes are doglegged which keeps the longer hitters at bay but the main thing about this exposed track is the tight fairways and with a bit of moisture in the area in the lead up to the event the rough is going to be sticky so being on the fairway is the place to be. That puts a high premium on accuracy.
With the softness of the course the greens are receptive so second shots are going to be important too so a good tee to green game is very much the order of the day this week I think. The wind is likely to blow across the course as it always does so those proficient in the wind should be noted too.
Kaymer leads the field at 9/1. He has won this tournament before as has the next man in the betting. That man is Joost Luiten and he is 18/1 to win this week. Tyrell Hatton tees it up but looks fairly short at 28/1 as does Jamie Donaldson at 30/1 despite his pedigree. It is 33/1 bar those four in a really open but high quality field.
In these local opens I often like to take a national man. If we think back to the Made in Denmark the crowds there roared Soren Kjeldsen to a runner up spot and Joost Luiten gets the same hero adulation in this tournament.
Joost Luiten won this event in 2013 on this golf course and he was fifth in the defence of his title last year. He’s had a couple of other creditable runs around here too so we know he can handle the pressure of playing in front of his own crowd.
We shouldn’t be surprised that Luiten goes well here. This course is designed by the same man as Wentworth where hitting the fairways is equally as crucial and Luiten has two top 12 finishes there in the last two runnings. We also know he can play in the wind and he showed that again in the Scottish Open in July where he was inside the top 5.
That showing in Scotland shows he maintains his ability at this level of the game despite his struggles in the US and at 18/1 he’s my main pick this week.
Another guy I expect to go well is the new English sensation Matthew Fitzpatrick. If it is hitting fairways and greens that you need then Fitzpatrick is your man. He is rarely away from the centre of either and with his putting improving all the time he has to be on any shortlist here.
Fitzpatrick is in good form having come third in the Lyoness Open, second in the Omega Masters and third in the Czech Masters in the last three months. These short courses play right up his street and it is hard to see him not being in contention here.
Another man I think will go well this week is Miguel Angel Jimenez. With the quality of his iron play the likeable Spaniard eats these courses up and with length not a commodity you need this week I see no reason why Jimenez won’t push for another KLM title.
Jimenez was inside the top 10 in the Scottish Open and was runner up at the BMW PGA Championship and the Open d’Espana so he retains all of his quality at this level and having been beaten in a playoff here two years ago we know he can perform on the course. I’m expecting a good showing from Jimenez here.
Back J.Luiten to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 19.00 with Paddy Power (1/4 1-6)
Back M.Fitzpatrick to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-5)
Back M-A.Jimenez to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 56.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-5)
