WITH no PGA Tour competition this week I will concentrate on the Omega European Masters.
That's a shame as I landed a nice 22-1 winner on Monday with Justin Thomas taking the Dell Tech title. Two of my other tips placed – Jon Rahm and Paul Casey – for a nice profit.
The beautiful 7000-yard, par 70, Crans-Sur-Sierre course in Switzerland is the venue this week for the European Masters.
It’s a fairly strong field, including last year’s winner Alex Noren, Bernd Wiesberger and Tommy Fleetwood and could turn out to be a good tournament. Apart from the beautiful scenery the prize fund is up to 2.7 million euros which is probably one of the reasons there is a good field.
Although quite a short course it is quite tight and accuracy is needed but more importantly GIR and scrambling are probably the two stats to look out for.
Tommy Fleetwood hasn’t played since the US PGA in the middle of last month but has had a cracking season.
He has won twice this year (the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and HNA French Open) and also seconds in the Shenzen International and the WGC-Mexico Championship.
A T4 at the US Open shows he can mix with the big boys and is strong in both GIR and Scrambling. Although he has been in a mini slump of late, a T27 in The Open on his home course was a bit disappointing but can bounce back here. GIR: 77.2% (1st) Scrambling: 59.6% (44th)
Bernd Wiesberger has not had the greatest of seasons but a win at the Shenzen International showed his class. He has also three top-five finishes but has laboured a bit since a T4 finish at the Volvo China Open the week after Shenzen.
He has never finished better than sixth here but if he can get back to the form he showed earlier in the season he could do well. The Austrian is 10th in the Race to Dubai and will be desperate to climb further up the leaderboard. GIR: 71.4% (29th) Scrambling: 61.7% (19th)
I have been a long admirer Frenchman Alexander Levy but although he won the Volvo China Open at the end of April but hasn’t really set the heather alight this season. With the Ryder Cup coming up in France next year he’ll be desperate to start collecting points.
He looked to be back to his best at the Porsche European Open at the end of July when he finished second. He was the first Frenchman to win twice in one season in 2014. At the prices being offered I think he is worth a bet. GIR: 68.8% (65th) Scrambling: 59.2% (52nd).
Recommended Bets
- 1.5pts ew Tommy Fleetwood (Ladbrokes, 12-1)
- 1.5pts ew Bernd Wiesberger (William Hill, 25-1)
- 1.5pts ew Alexander Levy (BetVictor, 40-1)
GambleAware
Well done last week ace. Been a stellar season from you
Thanks Lee. Was a tense day on Monday but Thomas held on. Was really pleased about Rahm and Casey also.