Best bets
2.5pts each-way Matt Fitzpatrick @ 8/1
1pt each-way Ryo Hisatsune @ 80/1
1pt each-way Matt Wallace @ 25/1
1pt each-way Ludvig Aberg @ 16/1
1pt each-way Rasmus Hojgaard @ 22/1
0.5pt each-way Richie Ramsay @ 66/1
Place FIVE pre-tournament bets and get an in-play matched FREE BET! T&Cs apply.
While punters tried to get their heads around a 400/1 chance with form figures of MC-MC-MC-62-MC-46 opening his DP World Tour account in Prague, the outcome of the Tour Championship made far less head-scratching reading with man-in-form Viktor Hovland lapping 29 rivals to pick up a tidy $18m as FedEx Cup champion.
The FedEx Cup result – predicted here last week – gives Europe a real shot in the arm with the Ryder Cup less than a month away and although Luke Donald’s yet-to-be-finalised team are outsiders at 6/4 the reasons for fearing a repetition of the 19-9 thrashing the Americans administered two years ago at Whistling Straits are receding.
With top European support for Norway’s birdie machine Hovland in Atlanta – Rory McIlroy again in the frame in fourth place, Tommy Fleetwood sixth, Matt Fitzpatrick ninth – and home advantage in Rome, it could go right to the wire this time.
Of course there are concerns, Jon Rahm’s loss of confidence the main one and Shane Lowry is struggling, but the Americans have their problems too. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is not the only one looking vulnerable on the greens, Justin Thomas is so off his game that he didn’t even make it to East Lake and Jordan Spieth has never looked more beatable.
All this Ryder Cup speculation leads us nicely into this week’s European Masters up in the Swiss Alps at glorious Crans-sur-Sierre, the last-chance saloon for the wild-card contenders to stake their claim. Donald has six to hand out and it is giving him sleepless nights. On Monday he has to name them.
Most interest centres on rookie Ludvig Aberg, who comes from the amateur ranks with a tremendous reputation and for the main part has been living up to the hype in just a handful of pro starts.
The 23-year-old Swede’s top-five effort on Sunday behind massive outsider Todd Clements at the Czech Masters was impressive following on from a fourth and 14th on the American circuit but, mature though he is, will he be ripe enough for the Ryder Cup cauldron?
This week, on the quirky little Crans course, just a 6808-yard par 70 in rarefied air 1500 metres above sea level where club selection counts for so much, will tell us more about the cool new kid on the block.
Also under scrutiny will be the Hojgaard twins from Denmark. Nicolai arrives fresh from third place in Prague to a course unsuited to his power game, Rasmus as a course winner but not firing on all cylinders after injury despite having won this year. Will Luke pick one twin and leave out the other? All will be revealed on Monday.
The likely lads may have to get past obvious favourite Matt Fitzpatrick (or give him a run for his money) to make Donald change the six names he has probably pencilled in already.
It doesn’t take rocket science to work out that Fitzpatrick is by far the most likely winner. He has a fabulous course record, two wins, a second and a seventh, admittedly a long time ago when a lesser golfer than he is now.
He’s a PGA Tour winner this year, a Major champion last year and arrives in great nick after a second at the BMW and ninth in the Tour Championship. He is at a different level and knows the Ballesteros course like the back of his hand. What’s not to like?
Course form also draws me towards 2021 champion Rasmus Hojgaard and 2022 runner-up Matt Wallace who was unfortunate to fill the second spot again in the Czech Republic at the weekend, coming up against a rookie having the day of his life. Coming up one shy of a playoff was gutting but he will see the positives, the main one being it ended a long run of disappointments since winning the Corales back in March.
At Crans last year, he and Thriston Lawrence played off with Wallace coming off worst. Going one better on Sunday might yet earn this great trier an overdue Ryder Cup debut.
Hojgaard’s win in his home country last month required help from a nervous leader but he has that touch of class that separates him from most of his rivals. That was his fourth victory and he’s barely 22. Donald needs people who knows how to win and in Rasmus he has one.
One outsider worth a look is dogged Scot Richie Ramsay who loves Crans – he won there in 2012 and was twice in the top ten since. The Aberdonian has two bits of current form that put him in with a shout – third at HimmerLand last month and fifth in the Scandinavian Mixed in June. And unlike the younger, bigger names, he doesn’t have Ryder-contender pressure weighing him down.
A leaderboard regular these days is the young Japanese visitor Ryo Hisatsune. Only just 21, he looked likely to finish much higher than 14th for much of the Czech tournament and had previously been an eye-catcher in California when finishing tenth in the Barracuda. Before that, another top ten in Denmark and a 15th at the British Masters. This all reads well and there is obviously more to come.
Watch out too for Fitzpatrick’s younger brother Alex who outscored Matt at The Open and showed that was no fluke when runner-up in the World Invitational in Northern Ireland a couple of weekends ago. He’s another winner waiting to happen.
Weekend showers threaten the tour’s most picturesque venue but the views of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn are stunning and the air is crystal clear. Make the most of it as the PGA Tour is taking a break and Crans is the week’s only live golf on TV.
For all your bets on the PGA Tour, visit our dedicated golf betting page.
