The European Tour will shift to Sicily, Italy and the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort for the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open this week. It will mark just the second renewal of the tournament since 2012 after Alvaro Quiros was victorious at this event a year ago. Very similar to the now defunct Sicily Open, the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open will likely feature one of the weakest fields of the European Tour season. However, the lack of elite talent should open the door for some intriguing sports betting options capable with some strong value options that are capable of contending for the outright win this week. Here is a closer look at the best bets for the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open. Odds are courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
Event Details
Event: Rocco Forte Open
Category: European
Date: May 10th-13th
Location: Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily, Italy
While this specific tournament doesn’t have much history to reflect on when attempting to project what to expect this week, the fact that the Sicily Open was so similar should help us predict what we can expect. This year’s renewal will feature the same 18 holes that were used in 2017 although the order in which they will be played has been shaken up somewhat for this edition.
Past Five Winners
2017: Alvaro Quiros -14
2013-16: No Tournament
2012: Thorbjorn Olesen -15
2011: Raphael Jacquelin-12
What To Know About The Course
Located close to the seaside town of Sciacca, the area surrounding the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort is actually very beautiful. As for the actual course, half of the holes will feature water hazards that will add an additional element of difficulty. Based on the past tournaments at this course, Scrambling numbers should be worth considering when evaluating the field for this tournament. Driving Distance will help but it won’t be absolutely crucial to success at this event. Meanwhile, Greens In Regulation is another statistic that will play a significant role in determining the outcome of this tournament. With such a limited field, it will be interesting to see how much of an impact course experience has on the outcome of this event.
The Field
While this week’s field does include Tour winners such as Eddie Pepperell, the majority of them are struggling heading in to this event.
Andy Sullivan is the sports betting favorite to win the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open at +1200 odds. Thorbjorn Olesen is next in line at +1400 odds with Pepperell listed at +2500 odds to win this event outright. 2017 winner Alvaro Quiros is expected to be in the mix once again at +2500 odds to repeat here. Julien Guerrier, Andrea Pavan and Sam Horsfield round out the list of sports betting favorites. With only a handful of this week’s competitors currently listed in the top 120 in the world, it makes a lot of sense to stick with the favorites and capitalize on their potential to run away form the rest of this field.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Thorbjorn Olesen over Eddie Pepperell
Pepperell had a strong start here last year and he did win the Qatar Masters earlier this season. However, we think there is good value betting on Olesen to edge him out in the head-to-head sports betting matchup. Olesen, who won this tournament in 2012, is going through a bit of a rough stretch but he has the talent to break out of that funk at an event that he has won before. We aren’t expecting the wheels to completely fall off for Pepperell this week. However, we do expect Olesen to be able to edge him out in the head-to-head sports betting matchup in Italy.
Top-Five Pick: Alvaro Quiros
While it isn’t easy to win the same tournament two years in a row, Quiros’ ability combined with the fact that this event will feature one of the weaker fields of the season make him an intriguing option to contend. Quiros is in slightly better form than some of the other top options on the board after finishing second in Morocco after he led there through 54 holes. While we might not be willing to commit to betting on him to win this event outright once again, Quiros should be a good selection to pick to finish in the top-five at the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open this week.
Odds To Win 2018 Rocce Forte Sicilian Open
Andy Sullivan +1050
Thorbjorn Olesen +1550
Eddie Pepperell +2250
Alvaro Quiros +2550
Sam Horsfield +2550
Andrea Pavan +2550
Scott Vincent +2550
David Horsey +3250
Julien Guerrier +3250
Mike Lorenzo Vera +3250
Marcus Fisher +3550
Paul Waring +3550
Jason Scrivener +3550
Joakim Lagergren +4550
Matthew Millar +4550
Trevor Fisher Jnr +5050
Matteo Manassero +5050
Lucas Bjerregaard +5500
Soren Kjeldsen +5500
Jeff Winther +5500
Christaan Bezuidenhout +5500
Jacques Kruyswijk +6550
Romain Langasque +6550
Philipp Mejow +6550
Pedro Oriol +6550
Lorenzo Gagli +6550
Victor Perez +6550
Sebastian Gros +6550
Tapio Pukkanen +6550
Mikko Korhonen +6550
