European Open

The European Tour remains in Ireland for the European Open, hosted at the K Club, just south of Dublin and home of the 2005 Ryder Cup. There is one of the strongest fields .of the year on view this week and there really shouldn't be a surprise winner. To see Patrik Sjoland win an event after the slump he has been in beggars belief! Nevertheless, this event is relatively unique in Europe in that it is one in which Monty has not played well. Of his last 75 starts in Europe, he has missed only five cuts and one was here in 1998. That said, the event was played the week after the US PGA in 1997 & 1998, so some excuses can be made. The same can be said for Lee Westwood who withdrew after the 3rd round in 1998, but he was suffering from a hip injury and it was surprising that he started at all. He did make amends by winning the event last year!

Others who have surprising form here are: (i) Costantino Rocco whose figures since the event came to the K Club in 1995 read 5th (1995), 2nd (1996), 5th (1997), 10th (1998) and 4th (last year); and (ii) Per-Ulrik Johansson who won this event in 1996 & 1997, was 10th last year and missed the cut in 1998, but that was after shooting 83 in the 1st round and then 67 in the 2nd to miss the cut by just one shot! Both are in terrible slumps at the moment, but with that course form and after Sjoland's win last week, they could surprise a few people this week. They are also available at generous odds as well - Victor Chandler make them 125/1 and 100/1 respectively which makes the e/w/ proposition very attractive.

Like any Arnold Palmer course, there are wide open fairways and plenty of water to make this a target golf venue, hence the Ryder Cup decision. To compensate, it is long at 7,179 yards, which makes it all the more remarkable that Darren Clarke shot 60 here last year while missing two very makeable putts on the 17th & 18th. That he then lost his lead quite dramatically to Lee Westwood on the last day here may have some effect on him this year; it just makes him all the harder to cap. The home pro is Paul McGinley who, apart from a missed cut last year, has a good record in this event and after an overdue good performance last week, could again be in the mix. But with Monty and Westwood in the field, it is hard to look elsewhere for a title winner. Victor Chandler have them at 6/1 and 13/2 respectively, so the win only bet is best here.

Will have matchup plays later today.

72-hole plays:

Bernhard Langer to beat Thomas Bjorn -110 @ SIA [2 units]
The winner of this event in 1995, Langer has shown glimpses of his best form this season - he recovered well to finish 10th last week whereas Bjorn collapsed again to 45th. Expect much of the same this week

Darren Clarke to beat Michael Campbell -130 @ the Starnet books [3 units] [-125 @ Ladbrokes but ties lose]
Course record holder with 60 last year, Clarke is as unpredictable as they come. Putted poorly last week, but will probably more than make amends this week. Campbell will challenge no doubt, but Clarke will almost certainly be in the top-5 at the end of the week, he's been 4th and 2nd the last two years

Padraig Harrington to beat Michael Campbell -125 @ Sportingbet [2 units]
Arguably the best player in Europe since the Ryder Cup, Harrington has certainly made the step up to genuine tournament contender every time he tees it up. Disappointed by his performance last week, he is another who will try that extra yard to please his home crowd

Jose Maria Olazabal to beat Michael Campbell -111 @ Easybets [2 units]
3rd three years ago on this course and continued his impressive form at the US Open with a top-10 finish last week, Olly is another I think will beat Campbell. Yes, I do think he's over-rated when he plays in Europe.

Jose Maria Olazabal to beat Retief Goosen +100 @ Victor Chandler
Three missed cuts and a 24th place finish at this venue is certainly not impressive. Indeed, after last year's performances, this year has been a slight disappointment for Goosen. Looking for a rejuvenated Olly to beat Goosen as well

Eduardo Romero to beat Peter Lonard -110 @ SIA [3 units]
5th last week for Lonard & 6th last week for Romero, but for Lonard it broke a run of four missed cuts, so his renewed confidence will still be fragile. With finishes of 9th, 10th, 16th and 35th in his visits to the K Club, Romero looks a decent prospect this week

Mid-point update:

Just one play was decided at the halfway cut: Romero beat Lonard by twelve shots. Of the others, Michael Campbell finished birdie-birdie-birdie to make the cut However he still trails Clarke by seven and Harrington by two, while he is tied with Olazabal who leads Goosen by one shot at the cut mark. In the final play, Langer trails Bjorn by one. In an event where there are eleven players within one shot of the lead, there's everything still to play for at the weekend.

Final update: 2-4-0 and -1.92 units for the week

If only Campbell had missed the cut ...   Harrington slumped to a 77 today to lose to Campbell by one, while Olazabal also lost to him by two. At least Clarke was a nine shot victor. Of the other two, Olazabal lost to Goosen by four and Langer lost to Bjorn by ten. First losing week on the Euro Tour for a while, hope Scotland will be a more fruitful venue.

Update on outright bets: 2-2 and +17.00 units

Much better week! Westwood won his third event in his last six and Johansson did indeed rediscover his game on this course, he finished impressively in 3rd place. Monty had been the leader after the 1st round but faltered to finish 8th, while a 2nd round 83 by Rocco meant he had the weekend off