GOLF EUROPEAN ARTICLES

The European Tour will stage two events this week with the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship kicking things off on Wednesday from the Jumeirah Golf Estates. The event will get players acclimated to their surroundings ahead of next week’s season ending DP World Tour Championship, which will be held at the same venue but on a different course. This week the ET’s best will attack the Fire Course, which most feel is the easier of the two layouts. The top of the odds board is cong... 

The second of two European Tour events taking place this week has those not in Dubai competing in the South African Open. This event has the normal Thursday-Sunday format so the side-by-side tournaments will have a final round all to themselves. Both offer the same prize money and Race to Dubai points ahead of next week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, so it will definitely be an odd week with plenty of intrigue and betting opportunities. Just like the previous events... 

The European Tour is the only game in town this week, so research the field to take advantage of the betting opportunities that are available for the Alfred Dunhill Championship. The middle event in a three-tournament swing through South Africa has the field at the picturesque Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane. And as the name suggests a hazard on the layout is the wildlife that makes the area home. The field looks much stronger than last week’s Joburg Open and is again lit... 

The Joburg Open makes its return to the European Tour schedule this week kicking off a run of three events that will take place in South Africa over the next month. The tournament was last held in December 2017 and Shubhankar Sharma is happy about the late addition to the season schedule. Sharma finished three shots in the clear for his maiden Tour victory and will attempt to defend his title three years later. A strong contingent of South African golfers stands in his way led b... 

Playing with the schedule on the fly, the European Tour tacked on several more events near the close of the year. Three of those tournaments will take place in South Africa starting with this week’s Joburg Open, which actually makes a return to the circuit after being on hiatus for a few years. Many mid-tier players are ecstatic to continue playing and they dot the roster and oddsboard creating an opportunity for a nice payout. Shubhankar Sharma emerged victorious when the tourn... 

The European Tour stays in Cyprus for a second straight tournament at the Aphrodite Hills Resort. This week’s Cyprus Showdown, however, comes with a twist. Just so players who competed last week don’t get too comfortable with the surroundings the Tour is breaking out a new format. The first two rounds will be played as a stroke play event with the top 32 and ties advancing to Saturday. One more cut is made after the third round with the top 16 and ties moving on to Sunday. Score... 

Not only has COVID affected the European Tour schedule it’s also allowed tournament officials to play with different formats. And we have a new one on both sides with this week’s Cyprus Showdown, the second straight event held on the island at Aphrodite Hills Resort. The one-off event features a field of 105 for the first two strokeplay rounds with the top 32 players and ties advancing to Saturday’s shootout. The field will be cut in half with the top 16 and ties moving on to Sunday’s final round. Scores will be reset on each of the final two days. The unique, first-ever format makes handicapping the tournament a little more difficult and the best golfer over the first three days may not win, so make your wagers accordingly. A complete list of betting odds is available at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to place a wager. ... 

The European Tour ventures to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus for the first time to kick off a two-tournament swing at Aphrodite Hills Resort starting this week with the inaugural Cyprus Open. As the betting odds suggest there is a wide open field behind favorite Andy Sullivan opening up a number of wagering opportunities when it comes to matchups. Sullivan is currently the only player listed with shorter than 20/1 odds. Another new event means another new venue creating some... 

The reimagined European Tour makes its first ever trip to Cyprus for this week’s Cyprus Open. The tournament is intended to be a one-off event and is the first of two straight events taking place at the breathtaking Aphrodite Hills Resort in Paphos. We’re also seeing a drop in the talent level with no one ranked in the world’s top-50 in attendance. That means we have a number of value plays on the board behind favorite Andy Sullivan and we could see another longshot emerge victo... 

A regular part of the rotation since the European Tour’s inception in 1972, the Italian Open has a new home this year. For the first time the prestigious tournament will be played next to Lake Garda at the Chervo Golf Club starting Thursday. The Tour has endured a number of changes this year due to COVID and this event is no exception. It was removed as a Rolex Series event and we witnessed a slight dip in the talent level. It is a competitive field headed by betting favorite Ma... 

A new venue awaits the European Tour field this week as golfers prepare for the Italian Open at Chervo Golf Club in Brescia. The tournament lost some of its luster being pulled from the Rolex Series rotation thusly we see a drop in the talent level. Still, we have a moderately strong field headlined by betting favorite Matt Wallace, two-time major champion Martin Kaymer and defending champion Bernd Wiesberger. Renato Paratore, Guido Migliozzi and Lorenzo Gagli are among a strong... 

We don’t know yet if the Scottish Championship will return next year on the European Tour schedule. But it’s here now as part of the reimagined slate to complete a second UK Swing. The inaugural event takes place at Fairmont St. Andrews just a stone’s throw from the Old Course, and is a modern links test. A strong Scottish contingent litters the field, including the most recent Scot to win on Tour, Marc Warren. Robert MacIntyre is the highest ranked Scottish player in the field.... 

The COVID pandemic forced the European Tour to make a number of adjustments to the season schedule. We see another of those changes this week when the field heads back to Scotland for the inaugural Scottish Championship. A late addition to the rotation, the tournament plays on a typical links-style course at the Fairmont St. Andrews. While there is no course history since it’s the first playing, looking at golfers with past links experience should help in making some coin this w... 

The most prestigious event on the European Tour will take place about a month later than its originally planned date. That hasn’t affected a star-studded field from assembling at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England for this week’s BMW PGA Championship. The reimagined schedule has back-to-back Rolex Series events in place with Aaron Rai going for the sweep after claiming the Scottish Open title in a playoff. Patrick Reed, a late entry and the only player in the OWGR top-10, em... 

You can always tell the importance of a tournament by the quality of the players. That’s the case this week with a star-studded field off to Surrey, England and the Wentworth Golf Club for the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship, the second Rolex Series events in as many weeks. This prestigious competition brings out the best on the Euro circuit and even nabs a few big names from the PGA Tour to contend for the grand prize. The big question is can Tommy Fleetwood bounce back fr... 

After not having a premiere Rolex Series event since January, the European Tour will play two in a row beginning Thursday with the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. This week is a rarity in professional golf with the Euro Tour stealing the spotlight from the PGA Tour, which has its weekly competition in Jackson, Mississippi. The new spot on the calendar has affected the field a bit, though the Scottish Open remains one of the top tournaments on the circuit with a numb... 

A strong field is on tap this week when the European Tour heads to Scotland for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. The Renaissance Club in North Berwick plays host to a Rolex Series event for the second straight year. Tommy Fleetwood is the highest ranked player in the field at No. 17 in the OWGR. He opened as the co-favorite on the betting line along with Matthew Fitzpatrick. Bernd Wiesberger won last year’s edition in a playoff over Benjamin Hebert and returns lo... 

Kudos to tournament organizers for sticking with it so the European Tour could contest the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week. First it was on, then it was off due to the global pandemic, and now it’s back on the schedule, albeit in a different location than originally planned. Galgorm Castle Golf Club makes it ET debut, though it should be a familiar sight to many since it has been part of the lower-tier Challenge Tour rotation since 2013. In fact there are a few players in t... 

The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open was on the calendar, then it was off when COVID hit, and now it’s back on. When the Ryder Cup was cancelled a few months ago, Ireland’s national open returned to the European Tour schedule, though at a new course and with much less prize money. Galgorm Resort in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, will play host this week for the first time, though it’s not entirely new. Many players who came up through the Challenge Tour probably had a go since Galgorm h... 

The European Tour stays in Portugal wrapping up the three-tournament Iberian Swing with the dual-ranking Open de Portugal, which returns to the Tour schedule for the first-time since 2017. This is the third event to be ranked with the lower-tier Challenge Tour since the season resumed in July. It’s also the best chance for players to earn their Tour card, so expect some heated competition on the Royal Obidos Resort, which hosts for the first time. George Coetzee returned to the ... 

The European Tour’s strategy of playing tournaments in groups regionally brings us another new but old event this week. The Open de Portugal returns to the ET schedule for the first time since 2017 as a dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour to complete the three-tournament Iberian Swing. The tournament was first played in 1953 and was part of the Euro Tour schedule from 1973 to 2010. It returned following a break as a dual-ranking event in 2017 and was a Challenge Tour-only... 

After a brutal week in Spain the European Tour makes its way to Vilamoura for the 14th edition of the Portugal Masters. I say brutal because not one player finished under par at Valderrama. John Catlin survived for the victory with a final score of +2. That won’t be the case at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course where scores routinely hover in the -20 range, a welcome relief for those making the short trip. Pegging it up at the Portugal Masters for the first time in four years, Tomm... 

The change of scenery will be a welcome sight to everyone as the European Tour heads to Vilamoura for this week’s Portugal Masters. I can guarantee we’ll see lower scores this week than what we had at Valderrama when no one finished under par. John Catlin escaped with his first ET victory despite not recording a birdie in the final round. He finished at 2-over, one swing better than Martin Kaymer to win the Andalucia Masters. Four of the previous five winners on the Dom Pedro Vi... 

A change of direction is in order this week with the European Tour headed to famed Real Club Valderrama in Spain for the Andalucia Masters. The Tour returns to continental Europe after the successful UK Swing. Fresh off his win at The Belfry last week, rookie phenom Rasmus Hojgaard opened as the betting favorite. He will have to overcome a host of Spaniards, who have traditionally done well on the Valderrama layout. Jorge Campillo is the favorite among locals with Adrian Otaegui... 

Following the successful six-tournament UK Swing that saw Sam Horsfield win twice, the European Tour ventures to Spain for this week’s Andalucia Masters starting Thursday from Valderrama Golf Club. Horsfield isn’t included in this week’s field and neither is defending champion Christian Bezuidenhout. But last week’s UK Championship winner Rasmus Hojgaard is and he opened as the co-favorite with former World No. 1 and two-time major winner Martin Kaymer. With the entire operation...