This week, the European Tour travels to Madrid, Spain for the 2021 Open de España.
Before I discuss my favorite golf bets for this week’s European Tour event let’s take a quick look at the golf course the field will play and the key player statistics that I think are the most vital to a player’s success at this week’s 2021 Open de España.
This 2021 Open de España will be played at the Club de Campo Villa in Madrid. This track is a par 71 that measures approximately 7,112 yards. In my opinion, this track is best described as a classical golf course. The Club de Campo course will present this week's field with rather wide generous fairways. Having stated that, this field of golfers should have no problem finding the fairway off the tee.
The statistics I am focusing on this week are strokes gained tee to green, GIR (greens in regulation), driving distance, bogey avoidance, and strokes gained putting.
*The 2020 Open de España was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now let’s shift our focus to my favorite golf bets for the 2021 Open de España.
Here are three golfers to consider placing on your card to finish in the top ten.
Justin Harding +400
The 35 year old South African arrives at this week's European Tour event in rather good form. Let me be more specific. Since the beginning of July, Justin Harding has played 11 tournaments on the European Tour. In the 11 events just mentioned, Harding has accumulated six top 23 finishes, including an impressive second place result at the 2021 Cazoo Open in July.
Harding is currently ranked tenth in scoring average (69.63) and 19th in average birdies made per round (4.32) on the European Tour.
It should also be noted that Justin Harding finished seventh at the 2019 Open de España.
Matti Schmid +450
The talented young German arrives in Madrid on the heels of two consecutive top nine finishes on the European Tour, including a second place result at the 2021 Dutch Open three weeks ago.
Schmid also checks the box for me when it comes to key player statistics. Schmid is currently ranked 14th in GIR (greens in regulation-71.96%) and eighth in driving accuracy (64.41%) on the European Tour.
Nicolai Hojgaard +400
Nicolai Hojgaard has accumulated four consecutive top 20 finishes on the European Tour, including a win at the 2021 Italian Open four weeks ago.
Hojgaard is currently ranked seventh in driving distance (314.03 yards) and 15th in GIR (greens in regulation-71.95%) on the European Tour.
