The DP World Tour switches from Italy to Belgium this week for the Soudal Open, the second running of the tournament and one which continues the European swing on the circuit as we build up to the second major of the year.
Sam Horsfield won the first staging of this event 12 months ago but with all the water that has passed under the bridge since then he won’t be around to defend the title so we are guaranteed a new champion.
Recent Winners
2022 – Sam Horsfield
The Course
We are at the Rinkven International Golf Club in Antwerp this week. This is the course which was used for this tournament last year and which staged the two versions of the Belgian Knockout prior to the pandemic coming in and wiping golf in this part of the world out. The same composite course is in play this week which means the track is a par 71 which measures 6,940 yards and with a band of rain heading across Europe it might well play to a full yardage.
The course is quite exposed even though some of it is set in the woodland. It is a parkland course where water is in play on a number of holes so accuracy in the long game is very much required. Greens in regulation seems to be the big statistic here. 2019 winner of the Belgian Knockout, Guido Migliozzi was ranked second in GIR and that was a statistic that Benjamin Hebert, who lost the 2018 final ranked well in. This is not a track where excessive length is needed even allowing for the potential soft nature of the course.
The Field
I think it is fair to say that we don’t have the strongest field known to man this week, although with the second major of the season beginning next Thursday it was probably never going to be that. Just four members of the top 100 in the world rankings are teeing it up this week ahead of heading to New York for the USPGA Championship. They are Callum Shinkwin, Thomas Detry, Thorbjorn Olesen and Adrian Otaegui.
Aside from Olesen, we have six other players who are in the top 20 in the Race to Dubai rankings who are teeing it up this week. They all have a chance to make a decent move on that list ahead of the bigger events which are on the horizon. Jorge Campillo is the leading player on the R2D rankings while Sami Valimaki, Alexander Bjork, Marcel Siem, Julien Brun and Daniel Gavins the other members of the top 20.
Market Leaders
Alexander Bjork is the favourite for the tournament this week. It highlights how competitive the event is that he is a 16/1 shot. Bjork ran well to finish fourth in Italy last week and opened up with a 66 here last year before flattening out to finish in the middle of the field. Bjork has put together a good body of work this season and sits at 11 on the DP World Tour for greens in regulation this season. He is an accurate sort who probably is a worthy favourite but 16/1 on a player who hasn’t won in five years isn’t overly inspiring.
Thomas Detry and the former winner around here in Adrian Otaegui are next in the betting at 18/1. Detry will have the home support behind him this week but I haven’t really seen much in the way of evidence that he is knocking at the door to break his duck at this level. Otaegui is of much more interest although since he went to play for that week on the LIV Tour. He was second in South Africa earlier in the season but hasn’t done much since then so unless a return to a place with good memories inspires his best game he might be best left alone.
Jorge Campillo and Thorbjorn Olesen are next in the betting. Campillo is one of the highest ranked players on the Race to Dubai rankings and has been in brilliant form this season. He also has a pair of top 15 finishes on this course so he will be of interest to many. Olesen flattered to deceive a little in Italy last week when well fancied but that was his first spin in a while and if he needed the run it might be too soon to write him off just yet. It is 30/1 bar those named.
Main Bets
I’m going double Danish for my main bets this week. I’m not yet ready to give up on Thorbjorn Olesen yet. I really liked him last week and did my dough on him but my bet did come with the caveat that he might have needed the run after almost two months away from competitive action. He has had that run now and so now there can be no excuses. Olesen sits at 10 on the rankings in the GIR on the DP World Tour this season and that is a massive statistic this week because these greens are tiny. He also ranks third in strokes gained from tee to green and the long game is a huge thing this week. Olesen has already won this season and in this field 20/1 is a perfectly acceptable price.
The other Dane I will go with this week is Marcus Helligkilde who is another who has a decent long game, especially into the greens which is the most important part of it this week given that the course isn’t long and not too many drivers need to be pounded. He is a player in decent form after finishing second in Korea last month and he has a book of good form in some big tournaments behind him and I sense it won’t be long before he needs his name on some silverware. He finished with a 68 in the final round in Korea so it wasn’t like he bottled it on Sunday, he just found one too good for him but on a track which should suit him nicely then I’ll pay and see how well he goes here.
Outsiders
Jason Scrivener is another player who should be suited by this track. He is very straight off the tee and into the greens. The Australian ranks sixth on strokes gained on approach which transfers into ninth in greens in regulation and it might be the latter which is most important. Scrivener has a couple of top 10 finishes on the season already and while there is a concern that he hasn’t played since Thailand in February we are getting 80/1 on him probably as a result of that instead of maybe half the price if he had been active recently. I’ll pay to see how well he can go fresh this week.
Thomas Aiken is the other player I’ll take a chance on this week. His long game is renowned. He is just outside the top 10 in strokes gained from tee to green which rises to fifth when it comes to the approach shots. Aiken finished in the top 10 at the SDC Championship back in March so he can still compete at this level but that is likely to only happen on shorter courses like this one where he isn’t going to get done by length. He ticks all the accuracy boxes so if his putter can get going then he might run into a pay out this week.
Tips
Back T.Olesen to win Soudal Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Helligkilde to win Soudal Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back J.Scrivener to win Soudal Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back T.Aiken to win Soudal Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
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