Golf: Hero English Open
Venue: Forest of Arden, Birmingham England.
Dates: 30th July – 2nd August 2020
Tournament Preview
Following the first British event since the COVID 19 pandemic last week, the English swing of the European Tour continues at Forest of Arden. The English Open was last played in 2002, having been one of the staple events on the European Tour calendar and its resurgence has been well received. With over £2 million in the prize pot and a list of previous winners including Darren Clarke, Ian Woosnam and Lee Westwood, the prestige of the event speaks for itself. And with one of the most impressive fields assembled thus far on the European Tour, it promises to be a fascinating weekend of golf.
Betting Preview
Outright Winner
The European Tour continues to find its feet once more following the pandemic and it promises to be another excellent week at Forest of Arden: –
Dutchman Joost Luiten has been in fine form for the past few seasons on the European Tour and having gone close in his last two events, he is the justified favourite here.
Belgian Thomas Detry is a prolific performer on the European Tour, and he should relish the conditions here in the West Midlands.
Former Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan has struggled for his best form in recent seasons, but he finished tied 4th at the British Masters last week and looked in great nick.
2018 British Masters champion Eddie Pepperell faded badly at Close House last week, but he looked in good form prior to that and he is a classy operator on his day.
Englishman Sam Horsfield managed to sneak into the top 10 at the British Masters last week and looked in really solid form throughout the weekend at Close House.
1st Round Leader
Producing the goods over 72 holes is often the most difficult thing for any golfer to do therefore here are our first round leader picks:-
Sitting in 12th place on the European Tour money list, Pablo Larrazabal is the highest ranked player in the field here and he showed signs of finding form at the British Masters last week.
Young Italian Renato Paratore took the British Masters by storm last week, winning with ease and he will be looking to continue that form this week in the West Midlands.
Ross Fisher has been featuring at the top end of European Tour events for the best part of a decade and he has the potential to get off to a flyer here.
Top Ten Finish
With so many quality players assembled here in Birmingham, getting into the winning enclosure could be tough but there are plenty of candidates to finish in the top 10 come Sunday:-
New Zealander Ryan Fox is one of the most consistent performers around and in a field packed with big names, he should be one to watch come Sunday afternoon.
Dane Thorbjorn Olesen has been cleared in his criminal proceedings off the course and he will be looking to return to the European Tour in style here.
South African Brandon Stone has 3 European Tour wins to his name and despite not kicking on as expected in recent seasons, he shouldn’t be too far away here.
BetXChange Best Bets:
Outright Winner: Joost Luiten – 12.00
