Golf
Omega European Masters preview: Wallace the pick of the Matts
This week we turn our attention to the Swiss stop on the DP World Tour as the players head to Crans-Montana for the Omega European Masters.
The bulk of the PGA Tour season is behind us and Scottie Scheffler put the icing on what has been an entirely American cake, as he landed the Tour Championship by a four-shot margin, with the second, third and fourth-placed players all also hailing from the United States.
It is a wonder a few more top names haven’t appeared here to escape the American dominance, but with the Irish Open next week we have a weakened field in Switzerland.
The incredibly scenic Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club plays host, as it has done since 1939. Strong short game and a generally well-rounded performance will bode well here, and we have two selections whom we think could do the business.
Matt Wallace 14/1
There are a fair few Matts to choose from in this week’s field, with Fitzpatrick, Wallace, Manassero, Schmid, Jordan, Schwab, Southgate and Besard all in action. We’ve settled on the second of these, and the third-favourite overall.
Wallace heads to Switzerland as a 14/1-shot to land his fifth DP World (or European) Tour victory, and his first since 2018. Two of these victories came via playoff, but his last playoff isn’t such a fond memory.
He and Thriston Lawrence couldn’t be separated here back in 2022, but the South African would go on to beat Wallace on the first extra hole as the Englishman narrowly missed out in the mountains.
He has been in decent form on both Tours recently, with T24 and T28 finishes on his last two outings on the PGA, to go with an eighth-place finish at the British Masters last week. That suggests that in this weaker field he has every chance of finding himself in the 6 places available with William Hill.
Wallace’s short game has been one of his standout assets this season, ranking 23rd on the PGA Tour for strokes gained around-the-green. That will certainly come in handy here and should see him go close once again.
Marcel Siem 66/1
Marcel Siem may have flown under most people’s radars this season, until he threatened to trouble the top of the leaderboard at Royal Troon, before a tough back nine on the Saturday and a woeful final round scuppered his chances.
The German has bags of experience on both Tours and is no stranger to this competition and course either, finishing as a runner-up here way back in 2006. He may have just missed out then, but he’s gotten over the line on six occasions on the DP World Tour, with a couple of those coming in the past two seasons.
With his first win coming just over 20 years ago, Siem would have to wait another 8 years for his next triumph. He then landed another two in two years, before his next hiatus began. As he passed the 40-year mark, some may have thought he was done at the top level, but that wasn’t the case.
In 2023 Siem landed the Indian Open and added to that success at the Italian Open back in June of this year. It is a wonder why such a talented, experienced player could head to Switzerland as part of a lesser field at 66/1.
One of the German’s listed hobbies on the DP World Tour site is fishing, and he’d certainly reel in a nice return if finishing in the 6 places available at William Hill. He’ll be hoping to land another big prize this week and has every chance of doing so.
