The European Tour shifts from the picturesque Swiss mountains to the equally as delightful Dutch lands this week for the KLM Open, the latest event in the Race to Dubai competition. With the final series beginning to loom large on the horizon chances are running out for players to either qualify for Dubai or to keep their tour card so every week takes on added significance.
This is one of the longest serving European Tour events and while it has moved to a new course for this year it hasn’t lost any of its prestige.
Recent Winners
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
2006 – Simon Dyson
The Course
The new course in question this week is called ‘The Dutch’ which is in Spijk. Colin Montgomerie has had an input into the design of the course where the premium is very much on accuracy off the tee. Joost Luiten posted a tweet of a picture of the rough last week and it looked thick and dense so the fairways are very much the place to be.
The course is a par 71which measures 6,983 yards and has five par 3s and four par 5s. Two of the par fives are unreachable for everyone while one of them will be capable of being hit in two for the whole field so length doesn’t really carry a major advantage this week.
The greens are large and undulating here so they shouldn’t be too difficult to find ordinarily although a lot of them are raised with significant run offs so keeping balls on them may be harder especially with the forecast set fair and the course set to firm up as the week goes on. That should ensure a good all-round test.
The Field
Two of Europe’s Ryder Cup side are testing themselves on the course this week as Thomas Pieters and Chris Wood tee the ball up. There is a significant field looking to take them on though.
Alex Noren is in excellent form and is here while recent champions Joost Luiten, Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson and Simon Dyson are all in the field. They all won on a different course to this one though.
Market Leaders
Defending champion Thomas Pieters heads the betting this week. He will defend on a different track to the one he won on of course but having taken the title in Denmark two weeks ago to seal a spot on Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup side he is a form horse and the one to beat although at 8/1 his price is a little on the short side.
Last week’s winner Alex Noren comes second in the betting. Winning in back to back weeks is never easy and while Noren is in amazing form having won twice and lost the final of the Matchplay in the last eight weeks you’re not really getting rewarded at 12/1 given how hard it is to win two titles in as many weeks.
Home hope Joost Luiten will be looking to give the crowds something to cheer this week. He has a good game for this course as you would expect but he has admitted in the run up to the tournament that his game isn’t in the shape it was earlier in the year and those sort of quotes put me off immediately. His price is nothing special either at 18/1.
Ben An is back in Europe this week and will tee it up as a 20/1 shot to win the tournament. On his day he is more than capable of landing a title like this and apart from maybe his price there isn’t a lot not to like about the Korean assuming he drives the ball well again.
It is 28/1 bar those named this week in a tournament which has a little bit of mystery to it given the change in course but which has a much more open feel to it than the odds might suggest even allowing for the form of the main two.
Look Out For
The 14th hole. In a new initiative the European Tour are giving amateurs the chance to go up against the pro’s on this hole in the first and third rounds in a nearest the pin competition. The hole has large grandstands all around to make it daunting and generate an extra atmosphere so it will be interesting to see how players and amateurs alike welcome the opportunity and the new idea.
Main Bets
I’m going with two main bets this week and the first of those is Pablo Larrazabal. The Spaniard seems to like it in Holland. In his last three outings here having missed last year he has finishes of fifth, ninth and second so the Dutch air seems to agree with him.
Pablo finished last week very well to finish in a tie for seventh with a great closing 65 and that should have given him a lot of confidence heading into this week. On his day Larrazabal is one of the best ball strikers out there and we know how good his short game is. He looks in the mood to threaten this week.
The other main bet is a familiar one for me and that is Fabrizio Zanotti. Zanotti’s form this summer hasn’t been too bad. Only once in his last seven events has he been out of the top 35 and on courses which have at times been a little on the long side for him there is no shame in that.
This week could come at the right time for the Paraguayan. He comes in off the back of a solid effort in Switzerland where he put in a couple of 66s and nobody was better from tee to green there. He heads into the week second on Tour in driving accuracy and when you think the leader – Henrik Stenson – isn’t here that could be a significant stat.
His putting wasn’t brilliant but everyone is in the same boat this week in terms of playing the greens for the first time. That could negate any disadvantage he has on the greens but his tee to green game should have him ahead of the field and hopefully that is enough to have him bang there come Sunday.
Outsiders
I’m going to go with two outsiders with the first of those being a man who has already won this year. That is Marcus Fraser. He won in Malaysia and more recently he was the early leader in the Olympics and set the pace in the WGC Cadillac too. He was in the mix after 36 holes last week but couldn’t quite find the birdies on the weekend but that all shows he is playing well.
Fraser has been solid off the tee for most of the season and with this course not going to be too long for him the quality of the rest of his game will have the opportunity to come through. At the prices it is worth seeing if he can put a weekend onto a fast start.
The other man who attracts my attention this week is Adrian Otaegui. He was third on a similar test in Denmark a couple of weeks ago and he held the lead at one stage on the Sunday. That was followed up with a solid effort last week so there is plenty of encouragement for him heading into this week.
Otaegui goes into the week ninth in fairways hit on the European Tour this season so we know he’ll be playing the course from the short grass and his short game looked in wonderful nick in Denmark. A repeat of that effort gives him every chance of landing something at a three figure price.
Tips
Back P.Larrazabal to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back F.Zanotti to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Fraser to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back A.Otaegui to win KLM Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Skybet (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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