The European Tour will return to Italy for the second Rolex Series event of the year this week in the Italian Open. First held back in 1925, this tournament has been a permanent fixture on the European Tour since its inception in 1972. Now part of the Rolex Series, the Italian Open will have a much stronger field than in past years after garnering more interest for obvious reasons. The fact that the event date has been moved up from October has also helped attract more talent with Francesco Molinari, Alexander Noren and Tommy Fleetwood set to headline this event. Odds are courtesy of BetDSI.
Event Details
Event: Italian Open
Category: European
Date: May 31st-June 3
Location: Gardagolf Country Club, Brescia, Italy
Each of the previous four versions of the Italian Open have been won by top-class players, including Molinari and Tyrell Hatton in the last two seasons. While it won’t be a surprise if that trend continues this week, don’t overlook the potential for a surprise contender to emerge and make a strong run for the victory in Brescia.
Past Five Winners
2017: Tyrrell Hatton -21
2016: Francesco Molinari -22
2015: Rikard Karlberg -19
2014: Hennie Otto -20
2013: Julien Quesne -12
What To Know About The Course
The greens at the Gardagolf Country Club are tiny and a few of them are fairly steep so the greens will continue to be an issue for the top contenders to overcome. Quality Greens In Regulation and Scrambling statistics will be important to consider when evaluating the field for this week’s tournament. Driving Distance should help provide a little more rope for the top contenders but it won’t be the most decisive factor by any means. Don’t overrate power at a tournament like the Italian Open this week.
The Field
Molinari is the defending champion and the obvious sports betting favorite to win again here in his native Italy at +1000 odds. Noren is considered his biggest challenger at +1100 odds followed by Fleetwood at +1200 odds to win outright. Matthew Fitzpatrick, Ian Poulter, Rafael Cabrera Belo and Ross Fisher round out the list of sports betting favorites to win in Italy this week. Hatton, who returns as the defending champion at this tournament, is a smart sleeper pick this week at +3300 odds to repeat with another victory.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Lee Westwood over Alex Noren
Noren isn’t going to be completely overlooked this week but he missed the cut at Augusta and Quail Hollow so we are hesitant to back him this week. The better bet might be to fade him with an underrated contender in Westwood. After nearly two full months off, Westwood has impressed at Wentworth in the past and he has plenty of past experience at this course. If the veteran could put it all together this week, Westwood could very well edge out Noren in the head-to-head sports betting matchup and reward his backers with a decent pay day at the Italian Open.
Top-Five Pick: Tyrell Hatton
Hatton has as good a chance as any to win the Italian Open as the defending tournament champion heading in to this week. The fact that he is available at such excellent odds makes him that much more intriguing of a pick to bet on. At the very least, Hatton should find himself in contention once again in Italy this week. He should be a safe bet to register a top-five finish at decent odds at the Italian Open.
