For the first time in 18 years, the European Tour will head back to Belgium and the Rinkven International Golf Club in Antwerp for a brand new tournament in the Belgian Knockout. It’s been almost two decades since Lee Westwood won the last Belgian Open. Now some of the best on the European Tour are set to tee off on a brand new event with a brand new format. Here is a look at the best bets to win the Belgian Knockout.
Event Details
Event: Belgian Knockout
Category: European
Date: May 17th-20th
Location: Rinkven International Golf Club, Antwerp, Belgium
A field of 144 golfers will compete in regulation stroke play over the first two days of this tournament. The cut will be made on Friday night with only the top-64 in the field moving on to the nine-hole stroke play knockout phase. Those 64 golfers will be divided in to two groups of 32 and will compete in one on one stroke play matches over nine holes. Each of those matches will alternate between the front and back nine with the losing player then eliminated from the field.
What To Know About The Course
The fact that this is a brand new tournament being played on a course that has never been featured on the European Tour before presents some unknowns to those betting on the event. It will be interesting to see how important Stamina is in terms of figuring in to the end result. Anybody that makes it the full five rounds in four days will need to overcome the exhaustion it will take to get all the way through Sunday. An exposed, flat, parkland course with really short yardage won’t be any easier to play based on this format for the tournament.
The Field
While it isn’t the most star-studded field of the season, the Belgian Knockout will feature some familiar names led by Joost Luiten, Thomas Pieters and Adrian Otaegui. The fact that Luiten is listed at +2500 odds to win as the sports betting favorite is a testament to how wide open the sportsbooks think this tournament will be. With so many unknowns heading in to this event it should be no surprise that we have circled a pair of well-known names to bet on this week.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Thomas Pieters over Jordan Smith
Pieters is the home favorite playing in his native Belgium. He should be a strong pick to contend for the outright win as well as to win his head-to-head matchup with Jordan Smith. Pieters needs a strong run in order to guarantee his place in the Ryder Cup. As the host of this event, we think Pieters has the talent and drive to deliver a strong performance this week and edge out Smith in the head-to-head sports betting matchup.
Top-Five Pick: Joost Luiten
Luiten has been playing at a very high level of late, ranking 11th for Total Accuracy over the last three months. Belgium is a short trip from Luiten’s native Netherlands. He should have plenty of support with fans making their way to see him play in this event. While the value isn’t exactly incredible, Luiten should be an excellent bet to finish in the top-five in the Belgian Knockout this week.
Odds To Win
Joost Luiten +2850
Thomas Pieters +2550
Jorge Campillo +3250
Adrian Otaegui +3250
Jordan Smith +3550
Mike Lorenzo Vera +3550
Andrea Pavan +4050
Lucas Herbert +4550
Chris Wood +4550
Aaron Rai +3550
Ryan Fox +4550
Erik van Rooyen +4550
Thomas Detry +4550
Scott Vincent +4550
Benjamin Herbert +4550
Joachim B Hansen +4550
Nicolas Colsaerts +5050
Sam Horsfield +5050
Callum Shinkwin +5050
Jasques Kruyswijk +5050
Richie Ramsey +5500
Romain Wattel +5500
Brandon Stone +5500
Ashun Wu +5500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +5500
Jeff Winther +5500
Austin Connelly +5500
Matthias Schwab +6550
Maximilian Kieffer +6550
Stephen Gallacher +6550
*Odds courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
