It’s pretty interesting that it took until April for the European Tour to finally arrive in Europe for the first time this year. It’s only fitting that the return to Europe coincides with playing the first official European Tour event in the Open de Espana, which was formally known as the Spanish Open when it debuted back in 1972. The European Tour was off last week as everyone was in Augusta to play at The Masters. It was an interesting event where a lot of Brits did very well, including green jacket champion Danny Willett. The field for this week’s Open de Espana will still have a number of notable names, but a lot of the stars are taking the week off after such a grueling event. Let’s see if hometown hero Sergio Garcia can win it in front of his home fans.
Event Details
Event: Open de Espana
Category: PGA
Date: April 14-17
Location: Real Club Valderrama, San Roque, Spain
Arnold Palmer, Bernhard Langer and Nick Faldo are among the notables that have won this tournament. James Morrison, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Raphael Jacquelin are the most recent winners of this tournament but it’s important to note that those tournaments were not played at the Real Club Valderrama. The last Open de Espana that took place at this course was in 2011 when tournament host Sergio Garcia came out on top.
Past Five Winners
2015: James Morrison -10
2014: Miguel Angel Jimenez -4 (Playoff)
2013: Raphael Jacquelin -5 (Playoff)
2012: Francesco Molinari -8
2011: Thomas Aiken -10
What To Know About The Course
The course has been slightly altered since 2011 with some tees and bunkers being moved but for the most part it has more than less been kept the same. Valderrama is a shorter course at just 7,000 yards but that doesn’t make it an easy one to navigate. Driving Distance will be a factor but Driving Accuracy will likely be the more important measure to keep an eye on. The last five winners have an average ranking of 11.6 in Greens In Regulation so that should factor in to the equation as well. Experience could be significant as well with Garcia among the past winners at this course.
The Field
It’s no surprise that Garcia is listed at +600 odds to win this event outright at +600 odds. The interesting angle is the list of players that follow him with Rafael Cabrera-Bello listed at +1400 odds, Soren Kjeldsen at +1600 odds and Andy Sullivan at +1800 odds. The defending champion is listed at +10000 odds and that is the perfect illustration of how last year’s results at a different course don’t mean very much to the outlook heading in to this year’s tournament at the Real Club Valderrama.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Rafael Cabrera-Bello Over Soren Kjeldson
Kjeldson has looked good of late and the combination of his recent course form and recent results has him getting a lot of support this week. However, we like the Spaniard Cabrera-Bello on his home turf as he has also been playing at a high level lately and has the potential to win this tournament outright this weekend. Cabrera-Bello has struggled in his previous two appearances at this course but that was back in 2010 and 2011. A lot has changed since then and we like Cabrera-Bello to edge out Kjeldson at the Open de Espana.
Top Five Pick: Sergio Garcia
Garcia is the tournament host and the closest thing to a lock to contend for the outright win this week. He has played at Valderrama 11 times and finished inside the top-10 on nine of those occasions and his record in Spain is very strong. Garcia might not be a reliable betting pick in major tournaments but he is an excellent bet to win outright this week and should be a strong pick to place in the top five at the Open de Espana.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Open de Espana
Sergio Garcia +550
Rafael Cabrera Bello +1250
Andy Sullivan +1550
Soren Kjeldsen +1550
Martin Kaymer +2050
Joost Luiten +2050
Jaco Van Zyl +2550
Ross Fisher +3050
Thomas Pieters +3250
Alejandro Canizares +3550
Chris Wood +3550
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