The European Tour is back this week with the Portugal Masters at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal.
The 108 field will be competing on this par 71 parkland layout for the €1.5m purse with the winner collecting the title and €250,000.
George Coetzee returns to defend the title he won here last year when defeating Laurie Canter with two shots to spare.
The weather is forecast to be warm and sunny throughout with gentle breezes.
This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf with live coverage starting at 12pm GMT on Thursday.
As I’ve mentioned previously it’s always best to keep stakes to a minimum at this time of the season especially with the European Tour wrapping up soon as we look forward to the grand finale in Dubai in a few weeks.
Min Woo Lee
For my first and main selection this week I’m going to advise Min Woo Lee 25/1 EW Bet365.
The young, talented 23yr old from Australia only turned pro two years ago but has won twice already on the European Tour.
He has been playing consistently and is currently sitting 58th in the world rankings. He will be aiming to get inside the World's Top 50 for all the perks this provides and not having to worry about playing at the big events.
Last time out he was sublime, finishing runner-up to Matthew Fitzpatrick at the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama in conditions similar to this week.
This talented kid has already won on the European Tour this year when winning the Scottish Open to make it two European crowns after winning the ISPS Handa Vic Open in 2020.
With four Top 20 finishes in his last ten attempts expect Min Woo Lee to be challenging all the way to victory to make it a hatrick of European titles in Portugal this weekend.
Joachim B Hansen
For my next selection I’m going to look further up the field for some value and for that reason I’m going to single out Joachim B Hansen 50/1 EW Bet365.
The 31yr old from Denmark has been knocking on the door recently, looking to double up on his European titles after success at the Joburg Open in 2020.
With five Top 25 finishing positions in his last six events the Dane certainly looks to be on track to win another event anytime soon.
Last time out at the Mallorca Golf Open he finished in 11th place where he ranked 6th SG Approach and 7th SG Putting.
He fired weekend rounds of 65-67 and if he comes here with that kind of form in Mallorca then he definitely has to be one to consider.
The 50/1 on offer looks fairly generous in my book considering that just a place will return a tidy profit.
Laurie Canter
For my next pick I’m going to suggest Laurie Canter 20/1 EW Ladbrokes.
The 31yr old Englishman from Bath is another who has been firing on all cylinders recently.
With three Top 5 finishes in his last four tournaments then surely Canter has to break that European duck soon. With form like that he deserves to win a European Title and I just have a feeling that it could be this weekend in Portugal.
T5th last time out at the Mallorca Open, T4th at the Andalucia Masters and an even better runners-up finish at the flagship BMW PGA Championship event. This amazing run of form has Canter inside the Worlds Top 100 golfers and he will come to Portugal this week full of confidence to go on and finally win that elusive maiden European Tour Title that so far eludes him.
He would be a popular winner on the Tour and I’m sure many would be as delighted as him to see it happen. He comes to Portugal with the best form and could prove the one they all have to beat.
Laurie Canter v Richard Bland
For my final selection it’s the customary matchbet that has been so kind to us all year round and this week I’m liking the look of Laurie Canter again with his hot recent form to get the better of Richard Bland 10/11 Nap Betfair.
Portugal Masters Tips
- Min Woo Lee 25/1 EW Bet365
- Joachim B Hansen 50/1 EW Bet365
- Laurie Canter 20/1 EW Ladbrokes
- Laurie Canter to beat Richard Bland 10/11 Nap Betfair, 72 hole matchbet
