With two PGA Tour events taking place at the same time, the European Tour picks up the scraps for the second playing of the Hero Open. For the second time in 10 months the field heads to the Torrance Course at Fairmont St. Andrews in Scotland with a host of locals attempting to lift the hardware on Sunday. The contingent of Scots is led by four-time ET winner Stephen Gallacher and includes Calum Hill, Grant Forrest and Connor Syme. The favorite on the opening line, however, is Englishman Andy Sullivan and the tournament will crown a new champion with Sam Horsfield not in the field. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Odds to Win Hero Open
Andy Sullivan +1600
Marcus Armitage +2000
Masahiro Kawamura +2200
Adrian Otaegui +2500
Jordan Smith +2500
Ryan Fox +2500
Santiago Tarrio +2800
Calum Hill +3300
Connor Syme +3300
Daniel van Tonder +3300
Eddie Pepperell +3300
Marcel Siem +3300
Matthew Southgate +3300
Richie Ramsay +3300
Wil Besseling +3500
Brandon Stone +4000
Chase Hanna +4000
Victor Dubuisson +4000
Chris Paisley +4500
Darius van Driel +4500
Hugo Leon +4500
Joachim B Hansen +4500
Matthew Jordan +4500
Alexander Levy +5000
Ashley Chesters +5000
Benjamin Hebert +5000
Callum Shinkwin +5000
Daniel Gavins +5000
David Horsey +5000
David Law +5000
Jamie Donaldson +5000
Louis De Jager +5000
Nacho Elvira +5000
Oliver Farr +5000
Renato Paratore +5000
Ashun Wu +6600
Dale Whitnell +6600
Francesco Laporta +6600
Jeff Winther +6600
Jorge Campillo +6600
Marcus Kinhult +6600
Paul Peterson +6600
Alejandro Canizares +7500
Garrick Porteous +7500
Grant Forrest +7500
Matthias Schmid +7500
Ross Fisher +7500
Shubankar Sharma +7500
Odds Analysis
Joachim B Hansen +4500
There isn’t much pointing to Hansen having success in this tournament. He’s missed the cut in three straight starts and in five of his last six. But take into account the success he’s had in Scotland and what he did recently on the resort courses in the Canary Islands and I feel more confident in throwing down on him. He’s managed four top-5s on Scottish soil and he scored 67 or better in all four rounds in the Lopesan Open a few months back to finish seventh.
Benjamin Hebert +5000
He’s not the biggest hitter on Tour but Hebert is one of the best with the irons. And like we saw last year there were a number of steady, accurate players at the top of the leaderboard. Recent form has been more down than up, but this is a course that Hebert can handle and when his putter cooperates he’s tough to beat. After several missteps he showed some promise with a T33 at The Open where he opened with a 66 and closed with a 67.
Adrian Otaegui +2500
Otaegui torched this layout with a 62 and 63 on his way to a 23-under total last October to win the Scottish Open. It was an impressive week for the Spaniard showing just how much he likes the resort-style layouts. And up until recently he was in fine form with a runner-up in the Scandinavian Mixed and a T12 in the Irish Open. He wasn’t so good the last two starts with MCs in both, but his showing last year is enough to make me interested.
Connor Syme +3300
This is a home game for Syme, who is from Fife just down the road from St. Andrews. And no one in the field is more familiar with the layout. “I’ve played there a lot. I had the chance to go up and I’ve had a good amount of preparation around there,” he said of the Fairmont St. Andrews course. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but take into account some nice form recently and it makes the young Scot a solid pick in the outright market.
Daniel van Tonder +3300
This is a good spot for van Tonder to bounce back. He was seventh at the midway point of The Open only to struggle over the back half as I’m sure the pressure of contending for a major championship got to him. He fell to T40 at Royal St. George’s and I don’t think the thrill of that moment wore off since he missed the cut the following week in the Cazoo Open. That’s all behind him and the major experience should only help his game.
Course: Fairmont St. Andrews – 7,230 yards, Par 72
The Torrance Course at Fairmont St. Andrews is back to host another event after the one-off Scottish Championship took place here less than a year ago. At 7,230 yards and par 72 it isn’t much of a threat to the pros. Scottish Open champ Adrian Otaegui proved that by shooting 23-under despite two rounds of 70. In all 29 players finished 10-under or better across 72 holes. There are four relatively short par 5s and many in the field won’t even grab a driver on the par 4 seventh. The fairways are generous so expect the field to let it rip setting up quality scoring chances. And there should be plenty of them on what is basically a resort course. Weather is always a factor on the links and there’s a chance we see some unsettled conditions. But expect another low-scoring tournament this week.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu.
