Thomas Pieters is favored to win the KLM Open which begins on Thursday at The Dutch in Spijk, Groningen, Netherlands. Pieters was recently named to the Ryder Cup team by captain Darren Clarke and there is no questioning the pick as Pieters has finished first, second and fourth in his last three events and he has won three times on the European Tour in the last year. Pieters is listed at odds of 8/1 with last week’s winner, Alex Noren the second choice at odds of 10/1 while local favorite Joost Luiten is the third choice at odds of 16/1.
Top Contenders
It is a very top heavy field this week with only three players listed at odds of less than 20/1. Pieters is the obvious favorite based on his current form as he won two weeks ago in Denmark and he is the defending champion. The only concern when backing Pieters is a possible letdown after making the Ryder Cup team.
Last week’s winner in Switzerland was Noren and he is the second choice at odds of 10/1. He is 8th in the Race to Dubai but his good form came too late for him to make the Ryder Cup team. He played well in this event from 2007-2009 with three finishes in the top 12 but he has not played since missing the cut in 2010.
The local favorite is Luiten at odds of 16/1 and he has had some previous success in this event winning in 2013. He also finished second in this event in 2007 and was in the top 6 in 2011 and in 2014. Hitting it straight is a must this week and that bodes well for Luiten.
Live Longshots
After the top three you can really put everyone else in the longshot category. Byeong Hun An is listed at 20/1 but he has only played this event once in his career and finished tied for 65th.
Bernd Wiesberger is listed at odds of 25/1 along with Thongchai Jaidee. Wiesberger has only made the cut once in three tries in this event but Jaidee is worth a look as he has made the cut in all four of his previous KLM Open’s.
Chris Wood is an interesting longshot at odds of 30/1. He is actually the top player in the field based on the Race to Dubai standings. He has not played well previously in this event but he should do well at The Dutch.
If the reports are accurate about The Dutch course then driving accuracy is going to be extremely important this week. Fabrizio Zanotti ranks 3rd on the European Tour in driving accuracy and he is listed with odds of 50/1. He has played well in the Netherlands in the past with a second place and a fourth place finish.
Mikko Ilonen is listed at odds of 40/1. He finished well last week at the Omega European Masters and he has five victories on the European Tour in his career.
Marcus Fraser is listed with odds of 65/1. He has finished in the top 20 in three of his last four KLM Opens and he was playing well at last week’s Omega European Open until fading in the final round.
If you really want to take a huge longshot then Oliver Fisher might be worth a gamble at odds of 125/1. He tied for 9th in this event two years ago and was tied for 11th three years ago. He is coming off a great final round last week in Switzerland where he shot a 63.
Tournament Notes
This year’s KLM Open will be involving fans in a “Beat the Pro” competition during the tournament. Fans will have a chance on the 14th hole in the first and third rounds to hit their tee shots closer to the hole than the players.
Golf Picks
I will take Luiten at odds of 16/1 and go with three longshots in Jaidee at odds of 25/1, Wood at odds of 30/1 and Ilonen at 40/1.
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