After the flagship event of the European Tour last week the action heads to Scandinavia this week for the Nordea Masters, one of the fast improving events on the Tour schedule. Stockholm in Sweden stages the tournament this week which acts as a good watch in the run up to the US Open in two weeks time.
Henrik Stenson is supporting his home event this week and there is a competitive field behind him too including the defending champion Alex Noren so we should be in for a good week of golf.
Recent Winners
2015 – Alex Noren
2014 – Thongchai Jaidee
2013 – Mikko Ilonen
2012 – Lee Westwood
2011 – Alex Noren
2010 – Richard S Johnson
2009 – Ricardo Gonzalez
2008 – Peter Hanson
2007 – Mikko Ilonen
2006 – Marc Warren
The Course
When Alex Noren won last year he did so on the PGA National course but thankfully the tournament returns to one of my favourites courses of the season – Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm.
This is a really good golf course. It tests all parts of the game as most Robert Trent Jones designs do. This is a unique course in that there are five par 5s and five par 3s so we’re looking at a low scoring week after a few tournaments where the scores have been on the higher side.
The course is a par 72 which measures 7,511 yards so it is a bit of a brute. That said four of the par 5s are under 600 yards which is fairly unique these days. The feature of the course is the amount of water that is in play not least on the 17th hole which has an island green. The course is very exposed so we can expect the wind to play a part again this week.
You have to hit the greens and putt well around here. The greens are quite large but they have large run off areas so accuracy with the irons and control with the short stick is important. The ability to scramble is no bad thing either but it is essential that anyone you back can compete in windy conditions.
The Field
Henrik Stenson is obviously the star name in the field this week and he will have the big crowds following him but Lee Westwood is another big name attracted to the tournament in the hope of landing a fourth Nordea title.
Alex Noren defends the title while big finishers last week such as Rikard Karlberg, Tyrell Hatton and Julien Quesne are here too. Recent European Tour winners Andrew Johnston, Scott Hend, Jeunghun Wang and Soomin Lee also tee it up here.
Market Leaders
Henrik Stenson is the favourite this week. He is 6/1 to win the title which is probably fair enough based on his form this season but the fact he only has one top five in his last five outings in this event would put me off. Sometimes being the centre of attention isn’t all it is cracked up to be.
Lee Westwood is the second favourite on the 14/1 mark. He has won this tournament three times and has come second in eight outings in it so he’ll be quite confident going into this week. He has been in decent touch in recent times too with a runner up at The Masters as well as good finishes in Ireland and the BMW PGA.
Alex Noren is the defending champion and he is 18/1 on the best prices to make a successful title defence. This is the second time he will defend the title and he might well benefit from Stenson’s appearance in the event to take some of the attention away from him.
Thomas Pieters comes next at 22/1, slightly ahead of Tyrell Hatton at 25/1 and Rikard Karlberg at 28/1. Ross Fisher appears in the betting at 33/1 with Peter Hanson and Nicolas Colsaerts both 35/1. It is 40/1 bar those named.
Main Bets
I’m going with two main bets this week. I’ve not picked Mikko Ilonen who is double the price than when I successfully backed him here three years ago. He has a good record here but his form isn’t the greatest and his putting isn’t as on song as I would like it to be. The same things put me off Matthew Fitzpatrick.
When I heard that the tournament was returning to Bro Hof I was hoping that Thomas Pieters would be in the field because his game should suit this place perfectly. He gets it out there off the tee which is important but he isn’t reckless with it so he should have a massive advantage there and that will assist him with finding the pins.
It doesn’t matter too much if he doesn’t go flag hunting because he’s an excellent putter and a good scrambler and in a week where an all-round game is really tested the Belgian has to be high up on the list of players to back with the quality he possesses in all departments.
The other main bet for me this week is on the Frenchman who went well last week Julien Quesne. Quesne leaked a few shots coming home in the pressure cooker of the back nine on Sunday but far more illustrious players to him did a lot worse and this course presents nothing like the test that Wentworth does which is encouraging.
Quesne’s putting has really stood out to me in the last few months and that bodes well around here but he has always been a generally straight hitter and that is never a bad thing anywhere in the world. Quesne was in the top 15 for putts per GIR last week and he led the field in Shenzhen in that statistic so if he keeps it in play he can better his top 10 finish here from 2013.
Outsiders
I’ll take two outsiders this week at big prices who both fit in my length off the tee, greens in regulation and decent putters profile that I’m looking for this week.
The first of those is Sebastien Gros. The Frenchman is a player I’ve had my eye on for a few weeks. He is one of the longest hitters on the European Tour but as we saw in Ireland when he led the fairways hit he isn’t necessarily wayward with that length and that is a combination that can do some damage at this level.
Gros has had three top 20 finishes in his last seven events including the one in Ireland. I’ll forgive him the Wentworth missed cut because that is never an easy track to master although it was encouraging that his second round was a two under par 70. On an easier track in an easier field he’s a live chance for me.
The other man I’ll take is Pelle Edberg. He is a player I’ve backed a few times this season and had success with him in Thailand when he landed a place at a monster price and he is worth chancing again this week.
Edberg is a former runner up in this tournament albeit on a different course but he was in the top 10 around here in 2012 and that was a pretty hot renewal of the tournament whereas I’m not certain this one is. The course suits Edberg. He is long off the tee, has a good short game and can hole big putts as we saw in Thailand.
He sits just outside the top 20 on tour for driving distance and greens in regulation so if his putter works like it did in Shenzhen and Spain recently he’s a real contender in his home tournament.
Tips
Back T.Pieters to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 23.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-5)
Back J.Quesne to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-5)
Back them here:
Back S.Gros to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back P.Edberg to win Nordea Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 176.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
