After a three-week hiatus, the DP World Tour returns to Europe where it will remain until the final week in October. This is the first of two events in Spain with the equally inaugural Catalunya Championship next week and if there is a seen of déjà vu about this the name of this event, it is that there is an ISPS Handa Championship in Japan event at the same time … in Japan. While there will undoubtedly be a stronger field for the Betfred British Masters in two weeks’ time, there will be many in this week’s field who have experience of this course, even though it has never been used on this Tour previously. It was the host for the Lumine Lakes Open on the Nordic Golf League between 2016 and 2020, the Challenge de Catalunya in 2014 and the final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School between 2017 and 2019. Most of these events had some rounds played over the Hills course at the previously-named Lumine Golf Club, but they were mostly played on the Lakes course. As the name suggests, the course is situated in an wetland area with water featuring on 14 of 18 holes. Designed by Greg Norman, it is less than 7,000 yards in length and a par-70 (though two par-4s are over 500 yards long). Given the extensive bunkering and the amount of water, this appears to be a course that should favour more accurate players over power-hitters. However, with no playing stats recorded in any of the above events, there may be plenty of course experience, but little to confirm the game strengths that will prosper on this course. With that important caveat in there, there are only two angles offered to identify players who should contend. Angles to consider: 1. Tee-times should matter The first angle doesn’t relate to the course, but to the weather. It was important to wait as long as possible to confirm the weather given that there is likely to be a strong bias in favour of Thursday afternoon starters in the first round. There have been heavy thunderstorms in the area today and there is at least a 95% chance of rain until 10am on Thursday before dropping to 22% by 2pm. Friday should be dry with a light breeze rising into the afternoon, before rain returns again on Saturday. This angle is contingent on there being no interruption of play tomorrow. If there isn’t, conditions should be much easier for the afternoon players. 2. Course form could be important in this event Given that the course has not been used on the Tour previously, there should be significant advantage for anyone who has played in any of the nine previous events played here. There is the caveat above that the Hills course has been used for one-third of the time in many of the above events, but given that the Qualifying School was played over six rounds, that still means that the players competed on the Lakes course for four rounds if they made it to the final round. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players has been selected. Jazz Janewattananond Janewattananond isn’t a player who likes to rest when not competing on this Tour. When this Tour had a break after the Ras al Khaimah Classic, he competed in two events on the Asian PGA Tour, finishing 6th and 11th. Since the DP World Tour last featured in South Africa, he has played on the Asian PGA Tour again, finishing 22nd and 8th. He secured his playing rights on this Tour in 2018 after finishing in the top-25 in the Qualifying School here so has the necessary course experience, form and, like the other selections, an afternoon tee-time. Wade Ormsby Unlike Janewattananond, Ormsby hasn’t played since finishing 12th in the Qatar Masters. He has previously finished 18th in the Saudi International and 25th in the Abu Dhabi Championship so his form is very good given this type of field. He is a winner on the DP World Tour, having won the 2017 Hong Kong Open, which he won again in 2010. He may not have previous experience on this course, but these are good odds for a player of this calibre in this field. Matthieu Pavon The Frenchman gets the final berth after Laurie Canter was excluded by virtue of his Thursday morning tee-time. Like Ormsby, he doesn’t have the course experience from playing in Minor Tour or Qualifying School events here, but his class at this level is enough to warrant discarding the second angle for this player. He ranks 3rd in scoring average on this Tour (top-ranked amongst players with at least 20 rounds) and has six top-20 finishes over the last six months. He is yet to win on this Tour, but has finished 2nd twice, including the Portugal Masters in November. Tips 0-3; -6.00pts 1pt e.w. Jazz Janewattananond 66/1 (Betfred 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7) 38th 1pt e.w. Wade Ormsby 90/1 (10Bet, Sport Nation 1/4 1-2-3-4-5) 56th 1pt e.w. Matthieu Pavon 45/1 (Bet365, 10Bet, Sport Nation 1/4 1-2-3-4-5) mc
|