GOLF EUROPEAN ARTICLES

The UK Swing comes to an end this week when the European Tour assembles at The Belfry for the one-off ISPS Handa UK Championship. It’s been a wacky adjustment on the schedule thanks to COVID, but the six-tournament march through the United Kingdom will conclude with its best field yet. A number of players are returning after competing on the PGA Tour side, significantly enhancing the player pool. Matthias Schwab and Haotong Li have emerged as the betting favorites, but with a st... 

The final stop on the European Tour’s UK Swing takes place this week with the ISPS Handa UK Championship. For the first time in 12 years the Tour returns to The Belfry for this one-off tournament, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been all kinds of changes to schedules and with the U.S. Open less than a month away, we have a strong turnout, arguably the best since the restart. For a third straight week Thomas Pieters opened as the betting favorite looking to come out ... 

The penultimate stop on the UK Swing has the European Tour in Newport, Wales – again – for the remaking of the ISPS Handa Wales Open. The tournament was a regular part of the Tour’s rotation from 2000-2014, returning this year as part of the reimagined schedule. Another quirk has the field playing a second straight event at Celtic Manor Resort, a layout that produced a 2-shot victory for Sam Horsfield at last week’s Celtic Classic. It was the second win in three starts for Horsf... 

The European Tour stays in Newport, Wales, for the second of consecutive tournaments at the historic Celtic Manor Resort with this week’s ISPS Handa Wales Open. The event makes a return to the circuit’s rotation after being discontinued following the 2014 edition. You have to wonder how much of an advantage Sam Horsfield has on the field after last week’s 2-shot win at the Celtic Classic on the same track. Horsfield opened as the second favorite behind Thomas Pieters, who tied f... 

The fourth stop on the six-tournament UK Swing has the European Tour in Newport, Wales, for the one-off Celtic Classic, the first of two consecutive events played at historic Celtic Manor Resort. Working in the shadow of the PGA Championship last week, Andy Sullivan emerged with a 7-shot win at the English Championship while setting a Tour 72-hole scoring record. With a victory and a T4 in the last month the Englishman is on a heater as the betting favorite in this one. He will ... 

They are still playing golf on the European Tour even though we haven’t covered them in a few weeks. To manage the season through a global pandemic changes to the schedule were necessary. One of those changes is the hastily organized UK Swing, a stretch of six straight tournaments taking place in the United Kingdom. This week’s fourth stop on the swing takes the Tour to Newport, Wales, for the one-off Celtic Classic hosted by the Celtic Manor Resort. While the PGA Championship was stealing headl... 

The European Tour officially gets underway this week with the playing of the Betfred British Masters following a couple of low-key dual-ranking events with the Challenge Tour. Some of the bigger names on Tour make their initial appearance post-shutdown, but the field is missing elite players who have decided to test their mettle on the PGA Tour. That doesn’t take away from the importance of this event, especially for the UK-based players, who view this as their major. Tournament host Lee Westwoo... 

After a pair of dual ranking events the European Tour goes solo kicking off its six-tournament swing through the UK with this week’s Betfred British Masters. We saw a number of Euro Tour players compete in the opening two events but this marks the restart for many of the top golfers, including the past three winners of the British Masters. Serving as tournament host, Lee Westwood has a serious advantage of terms of course knowledge having played Close House Golf Club a number of... 

The European Tour moves to the Austrian Alps Wednesday for the Euram Bank Open, the second of two dual-ranking events with the Challenge Tour before the circuit goes on its own. Last week’s competition, which revived both tours after a four-month COVID-inspired hiatus, turned into a spectacular time for Marc Warren, who took the title by one-shot at the Austrian Open as a big underdog. We have a similar field gathered at GC Adamstal with a number of interesting matchups featurin... 

Being the betting favorite in the European Tour’s first tournament since the restart didn’t help Joost Luiten. So why not try it again? Remaining in Austria for this week’s Euram Bank Open, Luiten hit the board as the betting favorite for the dual-ranking event with the lower-tier Challenge Tour. Like last week we’ll see a lot of unfamiliar names on the roster with nearly all of them looking to put their stamp on a potential career-defining victory. Anything can happen when this... 

It took a little longer for the European Tour to get back on the links and they will take it slow with the first two events of the reconfigured season playing as dual ranking tournaments with the developmental Challenge Tour. That gives lesser-known players a chance to grab a victory at the Austrian Open starting Thursday. The tournament has a long history with both Tours and has been hosted by Diamond Country Club since 2010. This event wasn’t played last year so players will h... 

With a long history on both the European Tour and the European Challenge Tour, it’s only fitting that the Austrian Open welcomes back both in a dual ranking event. Last we saw the Euro Tour at Diamond Country Club was in 2018 when Mikko Korhonen won the innovative Shot Clock Masters. That was the first professional golf tournament to use a shot clock on every shot. There is no such rule in place this year to worry about. If you’re not familiar with the Euro circuit’s development... 

One last stop in the Arabian Peninsula completes the European Tour’s desert swing. This week the field attacks a brand new course for the playing of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. This event has undergone a number of changes over the years with a different slot on the schedule affecting the prize pool and field strength. And for the first time since its inaugural playing the event has a... 

After Sami Valimaki stunned the golf world with a longshot victory in Oman, the European Tour remains in the Middle East for this week’s playing of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Can we see another +25000 upset winner when the field assembles at the Education City Golf Club in Doha? In all likelihood the answer is no, but that’s why they play the game. Things have changed for this event over the years. A move to later in the schedule affected the prize money and strength of the field. And this year there’s a new host for the first time since the tournament’s introduction in 1998. Valimaki moved up the odds board this week, but he’s well behind online sportsbook favorite Martin Kaymer with odds suggesting a wide open field. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds and to place your wager. ... 

Following a one-week hiatus the European tour returns to the Middle East when the field pegs it up at the third playing of the Oman Open. With players getting ready ahead of The Masters and the start of the Florida Swing on the PGA side, the field has been thinned out. That doesn’t mean it lacks star power, though. Joost Luiten, the 2018 champ at Al Mouj Golf is returning and former World No. 1 Martin ... 

The European Tour is back on schedule after taking a break last week to allow players to compete at the WGC in Mexico. The field gets back to work this week with a return visit to the Middle East for the third playing of the Oman Open, the first of two straight events in the Persian Gulf. Most high-profile Euro players are in the states competing ahead of The Masters leaving our field thinned out, but there are some well known players who will compete for the title. Thomas Pieters opened as the betting favorite at online sportsbooks with former World No. 1 Martin Kaymer and 2018 champ Joost Luiten at the top of the odds board. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds and to place your wager. ... 

The European Tour heads down under this week for a cross-over event with the women’s pros at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Victoria, Australia. Now in its second year co-sanctioned by the Euro Tour, the event has actually been played since the late 1950s with eight former winners pegging it up this week. Both the men’s and women’s tournament will run concurrently on the Beach and Creek Courses of the 13th Beach Golf Links. In order to accommodate the large field both groups of pros will play a roun... 

Now in its second year as a European Tour co-sanctioned event, the ISPS Handa Vic Open has actually been around since 1957 when it was known as the Victorian Open. History lesson aside, the Tour meets in Victoria, Australia, this week with men’s and women’s pros joined in a unique format that has both tournaments running concurrently on the Beach and Creek Courses of the 13th Beach Golf Links. Both fields will play each course over the first two days with a cut after 36 holes. The field moves to... 

The European Tour’s swing through the Arabian Peninsula concludes this week in Saudi Arabia with the second playing of the Saudi International at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. You may not be a fan of its track record on human rights, but Saudi Arabia has embraced the game of golf and is paying large sums of money to attract the biggest names in the sport. They got the best this week with World No. 1 Brooks Koepka scheduled to peg it up alongside OWGR No. 5 and defending champion Dustin... 

Let’s put all the politics aside and focus on golf for a few days. That’s what the European Tour is looking to accomplish this week with the second playing of the Saudi International. And this event is proof that money talks with a number of high-profile players taking an appearance fee to peg it up at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. Making his second start since knee surgery, World No. 1 Brooks Koepka headlines the field, but defending champion and OWGR No. 5 Dustin Johnson opened as th... 

The second leg of the European Tour’s Desert Swing takes place this week with a potent field competing for the title at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The oldest Middle East tournament on Tour will again be contested at the majestic Emirates Golf Club, which has served as host every year since 2001 and in all but two editions since the first playing in 1989. The field is led by Tommy Fleetwood, who opened as the betting favorite at online sportsbooks. American Bryson DeChambeau is back to defend his title after running away with a 7-shot victory last year and both players are featured in tournament matchups. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of tournament matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager. ... 

The desert swing of the European Tour stays in the United Arab Emirates for this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The oldest tournament on Tour contested in the Middle East will once again take place at pristine Emirates Golf Club, which has hosted every year since 2000. Past winners are a who’s who in the golfing world with American Bryson DeChambeau stamping his name on the list last year with a 7-shot victory. Lee Westwood, last week’s winner in Abu Dhabi, also makes the short trek north al... 

The first of eight Rolex Series events gets the three-week desert swing underway when the European Tour heads to the UAE for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. An upgrade in status and prize money means an upgraded field with some of the best golfers in the world congregating at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. This event was added as one of the elite on the Euro circuit schedule last year with a purse that more than doubled. Shane Lowry is back to defend his title and two-time winner Tommy Fleetwood is s... 

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is the fifth tournament on the European Tour, but in many respects it’s the first of the new season. The tournament was elevated to one of the Tour’s eight pinnacle Rolex Series events with an increased purse attracting some of the biggest names in the sport. It also has three times as many Race to Dubai points at stake than last week’s South African Open. Major champion Brooks Koepka makes his season debut after a medical procedure put him on the shelf for a few ... 

South Africa will host the first European Tour event of the decade with the South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg getting underway this week at the Randpark Golf Club. Two years ago the event merged with the Joburg Open and now has a massive field of around 240 golfers that will require two championship courses. The Bushwillow and Firethorn tracks will be used over the first two days with the remaining players attacking the more difficult Firethorn course over the weekend. The ho...