Golf
Open de España preview: All roads lead to Romain
The DP World Tour heads to sunnier settings this week as the players travel from Surrey to Madrid for the Open de España.
Last week’s BMW PGA Championship was certainly one to remember for us as we predicted the forecast! On Sunday afternoon, our selections Billy Horschel (16/1) and Thriston Lawrence (35/1) both found themselves involved in a three-way play-off with tournament favourite Rory McIlroy.
We certainly didn’t regret taking on the hot favourite there as Horschel holed an eagle on the second extra hole to beat McIlroy, with Lawrence sharing second place.
We’re taking on another well-fancied market leader this week in three-time Open de España champion Jon Rahm, as we have two selections at much bigger prices who we hope can keep our good run going.
Romain Langasque 66/1
Our first, and shortest selection, comes in the form of 66/1-shot Romain Langasque, as the Frenchman heads across the border in an attempt to throw the cat among the pigeons in a field littered with Spaniards.
Langasque has played almost all of his golf on the DP World Tour this season, but his PGA Tour form can’t be ignored as he has completed just one tournament (he withdrew from his only other start at The Open), and in doing so finished in third place at the Scottish Open, shooting a seriously impressive round of 64 on the Sunday.
He’s done everything but win on the DP World Tour this year, with two T2 finishes, a third, and a fifth-placed finish to his name in 2024. That makes us all the more confident that he’ll at least be able to finish in the 8 places available with William Hill.
His form at this week’s venue, the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, is not to be sniffed at either. Although his fellow countryman Matthieu Pavon took the crown last year, Langasque was another notable French performer as he finished T9.
Europeans tend to get themselves up the leaderboard here, with French golfers finding Madrid to be somewhat of a second home. Langasque has just one DP World Tour win to his name and will be keen to top off what has been a strong season by adding to that here.
Alfredo Garcia-Heredia 80/1
We couldn’t head into this tournament without a Spaniard in our line-up, but rather than side with serial winner Jon Rahm, we’re taking a chance on an outsider.
Alfredo Garcia-Heredia is our home pick here and out at 80/1 he certainly isn’t one of the well-fancied Spanish players, at least as far as the betting is concerned.
The 42-year-old has still yet to properly break through and become a frequent name on the DP World Tour, competing in just five tournaments this year. Some may see this as a negative but if that’s what behind his bigger price then we’re happy to take it.
His lack of rounds of the Tour this year makes his performance at the Omega European Masters all the more impressive. It is three weeks since he took to Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club like a duck to water, finishing second in a play-off to our selection for that week, Matt Wallace.
If the Spaniard can combine that form with the ability he showed to finish T9 at this tournament last year, then he’ll be in with every chance this week. His inflated price means that he’ll only have to finish in the 8 places available with William Hill to provide a healthy return and keep our profitable run going!
