With Patrick Reed’s incredible performance winning The Masters still fresh in the minds of golf fans, the European Tour picks up where it left off with the Open de Espana this week. The European Tour started with this tournament back in 1972 when Antonio Garrido followed Jack Nicklaus’ victory at The Masters by prevailing at the inaugural edition of this event. This year’s Open de Espana will play out in Madrid, Spain and the Centro Nacional de Golf. Here’s a preview with the odds provided by BetDSI Sportsbook.
Event Details
Event: Open de Espana
Category: European
Date: April 12-15th
Location: Centro Nacional de Golf, Madrid, Spain
This year’s Open de Espana will be the first European Tour event played at this course since the 2009 Madrid Masters. While it was a cold start to the week in Spain, temperatures should heat up by the time Jon Rahm, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Paul Dunne and Pablo Larrazabal tee off on Thursday morning in what should be an entertaining tournament.
Past Five Winners
2016: Andrew Johnston
2015: James Morrison
2014: Miguel Angel Jimenez
2013: Raphael Jacquelin
2012: Francesco Molinari
What To Know About The Course
The winners of the 2009 Madrid Masters and the 2007 Open de Espana that was held at this course both ranked second for Greens In Regulation in their respective fields. GIR should once again be a factor this week as well as Putting statistics. While Driving Distance likely won’t be a significant factor, Driving Accuracy will once again be important this week. It will be interesting to see if home course advantage plays a role with the home contingent that is participating in this week’s Open de Espana.
The Field
Rahm has never won here before but he is undoubtedly the most talented golfer in this week’s field and therefore the obvious sports betting favorite to win the tournament at +400 odds. Cabrera Bello is expected to be his top competition as he is listed at +1400 odds. Meanwhile, Dunne and Larrazabal are the next in line with both of those golfers listed at +2000 odds to win this event outright. George Coetzee, Andy Sullivan and the defending Open de Espana champion Andrew Johnston round out the list of sports betting favorites for this week’s tournament.
A Good Matchup To Bet: George Coetzee over Pablo Larrazabal
Larrazabal finished T-59th in the 2006 Challenge de Espana on this course and withdrew after one round here in 2009 so we aren’t exactly sold on his stock despite the fact that he will be among the home favorites this week. The better bet is to fade him with a solid option like Coetzee, who delivered a win in his latest start. Coetzee doesn’t have a great track record in Spain but he has been excellent overall of late so he could be due for a strong performance this week. The value is definitely there betting on Coetzee to finish ahead of Larrazabal at this year’s Open de Espana.
Top-Five Pick: Jon Rahm
Rahm has the skill set to absolutely dominate at this course and he knows it well enough having studied in Madrid. Rahm will have had a long journey from Augusta, Georgia following The Masters but he is clearly the best golfer in the field for this week’s event so we feel confident he will deliver. Rahm teed up in five regular European Tour events a year ago and delivered four top-15 finishes including two wins. The sports betting favorite to come out on top should be a strong pick to win this week’s Open de Espana.
