Written by @Matt_Cee for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
The Open D’Italia | Thursday 28 August – Sunday 31 August | Torino Golf Club
There seem to have been a number of new events popping up on the European Tour lately, but this week the field will head to Italy for the Italian Open, an event that was inaugurated in 1925 and is steeped in history. This is the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup and a quick look at the field shows that there is only one man who can earn his place in the European team with a win here, Stephen Gallacher. Keep a close eye on the Scot, we saw last week what a major motivating factor that can be when Jamie Donaldson emerged victorious. The event will be hosted at Torino Golf Club and a lot of players competing this week will know the course as the event was played here last year. No-one will know the layout quite as well as the Molinari brothers, who are locals here, and so it Francesco finds himself as the favourite in the betting this week. The course itself measures just over 7,200 yards and features tight, tree-lined fairways with plenty of water hazards and bunkers. That means accuracy off the tee is key but once players find the fairway there are birdies to be made. Putting will be important if players are going to go low, so look for those who are hot with the short stick.
To Win Outright
Francesco Molinari 11/1
Stephen Gallacher 18/1
Marc Warren 20/1
Joost Luiten 22/1
Matteo Manassero 22/1
VALUE BETS
Bernd Wiesberger (25/1 a win, 11/2 a place)
Bernd Wiesberger missed the cut last week at the Czech Open but he’s never been the most consistent player so don’t read too much into that, he’s still playing some great golf at the moment. Wiesberger is a player that seems to thrive on tighter courses and whilst he’s accurate off the tee, his class really shows when he’s hitting his irons. I personally believe that on his day he is one of the best ball strikers in the game and if he comes out firing here he’ll make a lot of birdies. Each way here is the bet for me.
Eddie Pepperell (35/1 a win, 77/10 a place)
I didn’t know who Eddie Pepperell was until a few weeks ago but he’s been playing some great golf lately and at 77/10 a place, cannot be ignored this week. In last week’s Czech Open he came out firing on the final day and shot an incredible 67 which saw him pull off his second Top 5 finish in as many weeks. He’s another player who has the ability to play some great iron shots and he should enjoy this course and hopefully make a lot of birdies. If he cans string four great rounds together who knows, he may even manage his first Tour victory. Each way is the bet here.
Matteo Manassero (22/1 a win, 48/10 a place)
Matteo Manassero, like the Molinari brothers, is a local here and should be able to use that to his advantage. His most recent victory came in the BMW PGA Championship and since then he hasn’t really been a contender but that is due in part to the fact that he threw the dice and tried to make it big in America. Having failed pretty dismally over there he should be relishing the opportunity to compete in a slightly easier field, a solid performance at the Scottish Open a few weeks back showed us that he does enjoy being in this company.
TOP BET: Edoardo Molinari (25/1 a win, 11/2 a place)
Francesco Molinari is the more fancied of the brothers this week but at 11/1 a win I can’t bring myself to back him, so will be putting my money on the next best thing, Edoardo. He missed this event last year as a result of a pesky thumb injury that has plagued him for a while but he seems to be over his injury woes and heading back to his best as we saw in the Irish Open and the Open Championship, where he finished a solid seventh. He knows the course well so should come out firing. Each way here is the bet for me.
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