After a five-year hiatus, the Andalucia Valderrama Masters returned to the European Tour last year with homegrown hero Sergio Garcia claiming the title. The Spaniard will look to defend his crown in a tournament he hosts starting Oct. 18. With his career form on the iconic Valderrama venue, Garcia came off as the heavy betting favorite at +375 in what is a rather weak field.
Garcia is playing for the first time since becoming the record points-scorer in the Ryder Cup, leading Team Europe to a victory over the Team USA last month. He’ll be joined by several teammates from the Ryder Cup winning squad, including Captain Thomas Bjorn. Ryder Cup Vice Captain Padraig Harrington was a late entry to the field and came off as the fifth favorite at +2250. Lee Westwood ( +2050 ) and former European Tour No. 1 Robert Karlsson will also compete following a successful match at Le Golf National. At +1275, Irishman Shane Lowry sits between Garcia and Westwood on the odds board.
Odds to Win 2018 Andalucia Valderrama Masters at BookMaker.eu
Sergio Garcia +375
Shane Lowry +1275
Lee Westwood +2050
Soren Kjeldsen +2050
Padraig Harrington +2250
Andrew Johnston +2275
Joost Luiten +2876
Marcus Kinhult +3051
Jorge Campillo +3451
Robert Rock +4150
Matthew Southgate +4555
Nacho Elvira +4555
Aaron Rai +5400
Pablo Larrazabal +5850
Wade Ormsby +5850
Mikko Korhonen +5850
Richard Sterne +6150
Jeunghun Wang +6200
Julien Guerrier +6350
Ricardo Gouveia +6500
Ashley Chesters +7000
Oliver Fisher +7350
Stephen Gallacher +8500
Jason Scrivener +8555
Richie Ramsay +9000
Steven Brown +9600
Gavin Green +9700
Edoardo Molinari +9800
Peter Hanson +9800
Lee Slattery +9800
David Drysdale +9800
Nino Bertasio +10500
Bradley Dredge +10500
Matteo Manassero +10500
Joakim Lagergren +10555
Richard McEvoy +10555
Marcus Fraser +10555
Renato Paratore +10555
Haydn Porteous +10555
Marc Warren +11500
Callum Shinkwin +11500
Darren Fichardt +11500
Alejandro Canizares +11500
David Lipsky +11500
Paul Waring +11500
Maximilian Kieffer +11500
Kim Koivu +12000
James Morrison +12000
Felipe Aguilar +12500
Phachara Khongwatmai +12500
Odds Analysis
Sergio Garcia +375
Garcia has played Valderrama a lot and he’s played the course well, which makes him the betting favorite. He’s won this particular event the last two times, though there was a five-year gap in between. Garcia captured the title in 2011 and again upon its return with a 12-under total in 2017. He’s played this course since before the turn of the century with a T7 at the WGC AMX Championship in 1999 starting a string of 12 top-10s in 13 career events. His record here is amazing and he lines up as the man to beat among the field. The payout isn’t great, which would lead me to go another direction, but it’s hard to argue against his success.
Shane Lowry +1275
Lowry’s game fits the Valderrama course perfectly and if he’s on he’ll be tough to beat. He can pick up a few strokes just on his driving accuracy. He finished tied for 12th here last year and placed among the top-5 back in 2010. After finishing among the top-15 in four of six starts, Lowry faded at the British Masters last week, falling well off the pace to tie for 34th. He’s been consistent so a bounce back effort is expected, and that’s why he’s the second favorite.
Padraig Harrington +2250
The veteran is worth taking a look at for several reasons. First, the odds are in his favor. And second, he’s on a nice run with three top-10s in his last five events. He made the late decision to join the field hoping to build off that momentum and returns to play a course he’s quite familiar with. Not as familiar as Garcia, but successful nonetheless. Harrington had a runner-up finish here at the 1999 Volvo Masters, placed in the top-third of the field at last year’s event, and is looking to increase his points total to qualify for the Turkish Airlines Open next month.
Joost Luiten +2876
He went toe-to-toe with Garcia here last year, eventually finishing as the runner-up. He also had a second-place finish at the 2016 Open de Espana and tied for fifth in his debut event at Valderrama in 2010, giving him three top-5s in four career events on the course. If he hadn’t missed several months nursing a wrist injury, Luiten would be higher up on the odds board. As it is he hasn’t competed since May and the down time could be a factor. He said during rehab that he wouldn’t rush back to the course, so it’s safe to assume he’s 100 percent.
Course: Real Club Valderrama - 6,991-yards, Par-71
The tree-lined fairways put an emphasis on accuracy from the tee box, and the lack of distance doesn’t necessarily equate to a lack of difficulty. In fact, Valderrama has long been thought of as one of the tougher courses on the European Tour. In 2016, Andrew Johnston won the Open de Espana on this course with a 1-over total when the average score was over 75. Major changes to the course followed and scores dropped, but the small, undulating greens are a test for a players putting ability.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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