The DP World Tour resumes this week with the Dutch Open at Bernardus Golf Club, Cromvoirt, Netherlands.
The 156, with the top 65 including ties making the cut, will all be playing for a share of the €1.75m prize purse with the winner collecting the title and a cheque for €291,725.
Bernardus will be playing 7,425 yards long this week, it’s a par 72, heathland track where the key attribute will be power and distance with accurate irons onto the greens.
Kristoffer Broberg returns to defend the title he won last year when beating Matt Schmidt with three shots to spare.
I’ve already posted a preview for the Charles Schwab Challenge over on the PGA Tour so if you get the time then you can have a look at the preview and selections for this week in Texas.
The weather is forecast to be cloudy and windy for the most part with breezes expected to peak at around 33mph so conditions could be tricky.
This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf & Sky Sports Main Event with live coverage starting at 12.30pm on Thursday afternoon.
So let’s move on with this weeks selections for the Dutch Open where we are looking to double up after tipping Sam Horsfield at 22/1 to win the Soudal Open last time out on the DP World Tour.
Jordan Smith
For my first and main selection I’m really liking the look off Jordan Smith 28/1 EW Bet365.
The 29 year old Englishman from Bath ticks all the boxes for me in the Netherlands this week and could represent some terrific value at 28/1. His only DP World title was when winning the Porsche European Open in 2017 but he has come close on so many occasions.
Smith is currently ranked 1st on the DP World Tour Tee to Green and those stats could prove pivotal come Sunday afternoon.
Smith has now finished inside the Top 20 at six of his last eight events, it would have been seven if not for 21st last time out at the British Masters.
Jordan Smith is flashing up all over my radar at the moment and this usually only means one thing, a victory is imminent and it could well come as soon as this Sunday afternoon when he collects the Dutch Open title.
Oliver Bekker
For my next suggestion I’m going to single out Oliver Bekker 35/1 EW Bet365.
The 37 year old South African has been knocking on the door recently and was so unlucky when Adri Arnaus defeated him in a play off at the Catalunya Championship just a few weeks back. It went to the 6th play off hole before Arnaus eventually came up trumps.
That was enough to take Bekker into the world's Top 100 ranked players and this will give him even more confidence.
Since the Catalunya Championship Bekker put on another sublime display when finishing 4th at the Soudal Open so it’s clear to see that his game is on the up and that he is almost certainly getting closer to winning that maiden DP World title that has so far eluded him.
Bekker's recent form is phenomenal, in the last twelve events he has played, he's finished inside the the Top 10 on no less than eight occasions. It would have been nine if it wasn’t for 11th place at the MyGolfLifeOpen.
This could be the weekend that Oliver Bekker finally leaves his mark on the DP World Tour after so much success on the Sunshine Tour. He’s sticking out head and shoulders above most in this field so my advice is take the 35/1 while it’s still available.
Hennie Du Plessis
For my next pick I’m going to point you in the direction of Hennie Du Plessis 45/1 EW BetVictor.
The 25 year old from South Africa has been in fine form lately with eight Top 10 finishes in his last sixteen starts. Basically, Du Plessis has finished in the Top 10 in 50% of the events he has entered over the past few months. That’s a truly remarkable effort but it’s kinda hard to read too much into that as a few of those events were on the Sunshine Tour.
Last time out he was 15th at the Soudal Open and other DP World Tour efforts worth a mention include T6th at the Catalunya Championship, T3rd at the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain and T6th at the MyGolfLifeOpen.
These are all events in the last few weeks so he has certainly been producing some really good performances. He missed the cut at the British Masters recently but that was the young South African's first missed cut in over twenty attempts so he is consistent.
I’ve been watching Hennie Du Plessis closely recently and he seems to be on almost every leaderboard challenging and it could be more of the same this weekend on his way to becoming a DP World Tour champion with his maiden title at the Dutch Open.
Oliver Bekker v Thorbjorn Olesen
For my final selection it’s the customary matchbet and this week in the Netherlands I’m going to advise Oliver Bekker again but this time to beat Thorbjorn Olesen over 72 holes 10/11 Nap Betfair.
Dutch Open Tips
- Jordan Smith 28/1 Bet365
- Oliver Bekker 35/1 EW Bet365
- Hennie Du Plessis 45/1 EW BetVictor
- Oliver Bekker to beat Thorbjorn Olesen 10/11 Nap Betfair. 72 hole matchbet
