PREVIEW: 2023 DP World Tour – Porsche European Open

20222/2023 DP World Tour
Porsche European Open
The Porsche Nord Course, Green Eagle Golf Resort, Hamburg, Germany
1st-4th June

I don’t want to give myself much credit for picking Pablo Larrazabal at 55/1 last week’s Dutch Open. Ok, maybe I want to give myself a little credit. But I just found those odds ludicrous for- like it or not- one of the most winningest European players not named Rahm or McIlroy.

His victory at the KLM Open was his 9th DP World Tour title and puts him in with a half-decent shout of Ryder Cup consideration. The tour moves to Germany this week for the Porsche European Open.

Porsche European Open

First staged in 1978, this event was a nomadic ever-present on the tour until 2009. It came back into circulation in 2015 and has been hosted in Germany ever since. It started its rebirth at the Beckenbauer Course in Bad Briesbach.

But it switched to the current host venue Green Eagle Golf Resort in 2017. That makes this the sixth consecutive edition hosted at the feared Porsche Nord Course (formally known as the North Course).

The North Course at Green Eagle

The North Course proves that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Reputed to be one of the ten longest golf courses in the world, the North Course has a fearsome reputation akin a US Open venue.

But there is plenty of tinkering done with the yardage during each renewal. This means the flat, parkland layout doesn’t really play close to its reported 7,800 yardage. Surprisingly, driving distance has largely proven irrelevant around the North Course (despite the inviting fairways).

Water is nearly omnipresent and is ready to gobble up errant drives. This has seen driving accuracy emerge as a more crucial stat than distance. I think GIR will probably be the best indicator of success this week.

The large greens- a Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix- feature massive undulations and require pinpoint iron-play to necessitate realistic birdie possibilities.

The Contenders

Victor Perez heads the markets this week after a disappointing defence of his KLM Open title last time out (he missed the cut). He will want a positive showing this time out to put himself back in the running for his maiden Ryder Cup appearance.

The metronomic Rasmus Hojgaard finished third last week but he hasn’t fared too well in his recent visits to the North Course. He will be looking to turn that around with his own realistic Ryder Cup prospects to consider.

Previous champ Jordan Smith has gone completely off the boil and will be hoping that a return to greener pastures will reinvigorate his flagging game. Elsewhere, Yannick Paul and Antoine Rozner have proven to be perennial contenders on this year’s DP World Tour.

Past Winners

2022: Kalle Samooja (-6)
2021: Marcus Armitage (-8) *54 holes
2020: event cancelled due to the pandemic
2019: Paul Casey (-14)
2018: Richard McEvoy (-11)
2017: Jordan Smith (-13) *playoff

To Win Outright:

Victor Perez 16/1 | Rasmus Hojgaard 18/1 | Jordan Smith 20/1 | Robert Macintyre 22/1 | Antoine Rozner 22/1

Value Bets

Mike Lorenzo-Vera- To Win 90/1 | To Place 19/1

Spaniard Mike Lorenzo-Vera has picked up some really good form of late and will be desperate for more Race-to-Dubai points this week. His iron play has probably been the weakest part of his game of late (which doesn’t really play into my breakdown this week). But he has ranked 5th and 10th in his last two events in SG: Off the Tee. You may not need to hit a mile here, but you do need to drive it well. He is on a run of four-straight made cuts (posting three top-12 finishes in the process). He finished 7th in Korea, 4th in Soudal and 12th at last week’s KLM Open. He is on quite a hot run and he does possess a previous top-20 finish here.

Marcus Armitage- To Win 110/1 | To Place 24/1

The affable Englishman has gone through a bit of a lean patch over the past few years. But he won his sole DP World Tour title at Green Eagle two years back. And there have been glimmers of the old Armitage in recent times. He arrives in Germany off the back of three consecutive top-30 finishes. Accuracy off the tee is of paramount importance here and Armitage can be absolutely lethal when he’s in the groove. I fancy him to show up on a leaderboard this week.

The Man to Beat- Yannick Paul 40/1 | To Place 17/2

I’m backing last year’s Mallorca Golf Open winner Yannick Paul to fare well in front of his home crowd this week. The 29-year-old German hits plenty of greens-in-regulation and is long enough off the tee to give himself lots of opportunities this week. As I said, he won his maiden DP World Tour title last year. He also made his first cut in a Major last time out at the US PGA. He finished 2nd in the Thailand Classic in February before another runner-up finish at the Indian Open.