The European Tour heads to the picturesque Swiss Alps this week for the Omega European Masters on one of the most beautiful courses in the world. With the Ryder Cup team now named the big stars of Europe can focus on their Race to Dubai chances while those fighting for other things won’t lack for motivation on what is always a good week of golf.
Recent Winners
2015 – Danny Willett
2014 – David Lipsky
2013 – Thomas Bjorn
2012 – Richie Ramsay
2011 – Thomas Bjorn
2010 – Miguel Angel Jimenez
2009 – Alex Noren
2008 – Jeff Lucquin
2007 – Brett Rumford
2006 – Bradley Dredge
The Course
Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana, Switzerland is the venue this week and the first thing to say is that the course isn’t very long. It is a par 70 which measures 6,848 yards and with the course being at altitude it doesn’t even play to that full yardage.
The fairways are quite tight around here and this year the rough is expected to be denser and more penal so we’re looking at similar conditions to last week where the tee to green game is under intense focus. The greens are pretty small here and hard to find and historically those who find them the best are the ones to come out on top here.
The Field
We always get a decent field for this event not least because of the stunning scenery that the course is set in and this year is no different. We have the Masters champion, Danny Willett, on show and a further four members of Europe’s Ryder Cup team that will do battle with America next month.
Former champions Alex Noren, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bradley Dredge and Brett Rumford are in the field as is the Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke and the former Open champion Stewart Cink among plenty of others.
Market Leaders
Defending champion Danny Willett is the 14/1 co-favourite for the tournament. If he has the form he had when he won last year with him then he is going to be hard to beat but since The Masters we’ve not really seen him in top form and he has only cracked the top 20 once since then which isn’t ideal.
Tyrell Hatton is the other co-favourite to win the tournament at 14/1. He is in excellent form right now and he has a decent enough record around here but he has never won on the European Tour and I couldn’t be backing anyone at that price when he is yet to get over the line.
Alex Noren has won here before and has already won this season up in Scotland so he’s in decent form and 18/1 on him could look a bit of a steal come the end of the week. When he’s on he is one of Europe’s best and only really the price in comparison to others puts me off him this week.
Matthew Fitzpatrick was the runner up around here last year and he is 20/1 to go one better this week. The Nordea Masters champion has had time to digest his Ryder Cup call up and should be set for another strong showing.
It is 28/1 bar those four men this week in what looks a pretty competitive tournament even allowing for the star nature of the top end of the field.
Main Bets
I’m going with three main bets this week with greens in regulation the order of the day in all three of them and two of the three at least have had success around this golf course.
The first of those is Matthew Fitzpatrick. I backed Fitzpatrick here last year and he found Danny Willett a shot too good for him which was no disgrace by any stretch of the imagination. Since then he has won twice on the European Tour and is now guaranteed to be a Ryder Cup player in a few weeks.
Fitzpatrick sits 11th on the European Tour for greens in regulation and that is no surprise because we’ve seen over the last 18 months how good his tee to green game has been and if he can get the putts to the hole then I’m expecting the Sheffield star to build on a solid run in the Czech Masters a fortnight ago.
Secondly I’m going to take David Lipsky. The 2014 champion looks to be coming into form at the right time having finished sixth and third in the last two weeks and I’m sure he will be fully motivated by having seen his American compatriot Paul Peterson win in the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago.
Lipsky’s putting has been spot on over the last two weeks which is eye catching because we know he’ll salvage par if he misses the greens and when he finds them in the right numbers he will convert a large number of his chances. All of that makes him a big runner once again.
Andrew Johnston has stolen plenty of headlines this year and while a lot of it has been to do with his demeanour we shouldn’t forget that he is a mighty fine golfer too. He showed this in the Open de Espana when he won on a really tough golf course and if the rough makes this tougher than usual then Beef is right in the game.
Johnston is in the top 20 for greens in regulation and nobody hit them better when he won in Spain. We’ve seen plenty of times since then how well he strikes his irons and if he stars in play off the tee, which on a short course like this he should do, then the Englishman should play a major part in this tournament.
Outsiders
I’m also going to take a couple of outsiders this week as well. One of them I’ve backed a few times and am convinced he’ll come good eventually and then there is another who has caught my eye at a tidy price.
Benjamin Hebert is the man I have taken in the past and I’ll take him this week too. He sits eighth in Europe in greens in regulation and again with this course not needing the ball to be spanked off the tee I expect him to be in play throughout so if he can hole some putts he should be in the mix.
The Frenchman finished well in Denmark last week and was in the top 15 at Wentworth where hitting greens is also paramount and that is encouraging. His putting was above average last week and a repeat of that could deliver a pay out at a nice price.
SSP Chawrasia is already a winner on the European Tour this season and he wouldn’t be the first to originate from the Asian Tour to win around here. In fact the course he won on in India was quite similar to this one in terms of the fact that it is tight off the tee and has small greens.
The Indian is a bit of a maestro with the short irons in his hands so finding the greens or getting up and down from around them is well within his compass. In years gone by he might have been overawed in this company but that shouldn’t be the case any longer so I fancy him for a big run.
Tips
PLACED – Back M.Fitzpatrick to win Omega European Masters (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 19.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back D.Lipsky to win Omega European Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
PLACED – Back A.Johnston to win Omega European Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back B.Hebert to win Omega European Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Betfair (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back SSP.Chawrasia to win Omega European Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 351.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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