Golf: Hero Open
Venue: St Andrews, Scotland.
Dates: 5th – 8th August 2021
Tournament Preview
Following its reinstation on the European Tour last season, the Hero Open now finds itself very much on the calendar moving forward and is this year being played at the iconic St Andrews. The event has enjoyed many different guises since its launch back in 1988 and has moved from its historical home of the Forest of Arden in 2021. St Andrews will provide the perfect back drop to a tournament that has had previous winners such as Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood and with a handsome 1.25 million euros in the prize pot, there is plenty to play for.
Betting Preview
Outright Winner
The European Tour returns following a busy period of Olympic and major tournament golf, and this promises to be an excellent week at St Andrews: –
Former Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan has been one of the most consistent performers on the European Tour this season and starts as the justified favourite here.
Englishman Marcus Armitage has already won big on the European Tour this season and looks to be finding his feet at this level, especially in home conditions.
Spaniard Adrian Otaegui has missed a couple of cuts in recent times, but he is a very clean ball striker and should find form soon on the European Tour.
2018 British Masters champion Eddie Pepperell hasn’t been able to string any consistency together of late, but he is a classy operator on his day.
Welshman Jamie Donaldson is a proven competitor at European Tour level, and he tends to be always in and around the placings come Sunday afternoon.
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:-
German Marcel Siem enjoyed an excellent showing at the British Open last time out and with conditions set to be similar, he could start well here at St Andrews.
Young Italian Renato Paratore took the British Masters by storm last year and has been having plenty of fast starts this season, without necessarily getting over the winning line.
It has been a tough few seasons for Chris Wood, who has seen his golf struggle since representing Europe at the 2016 Ryder Cup, but he is a talented player that is more than capable in this field.
Top Ten Finish
With so many quality players assembled here at St Andrews, 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.
Englishman Jordan Smith has had a quiet season by his standards in 2021 but he is never too far away in most European Tour events, especially in home conditions.
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 be in amongst the places come Sunday afternoon here.
Hero Open BetXchange Best Bets:
Outright Winner: Andy Sullivan – 18/1
