Bernd On Course To Bag Trophy In Munich

Founded in 1979, the European Open was one of the European Tour’s biggest events, ranking only behind the majors and the World Golf Championship events in terms of prize money.

The Tournament
It has been missing from the calendar for six years but returns in 2015 with new sponsors and a new venue, although as it coincides with the PGA Tour Championship, it hasn’t been able to attract many of the world’s top players.

The Venue
The Beckenbauer Course at Bad Griesbach Golf Resort, near Munich, has hosted a Challenge Tour event for the last three seasons, but most of the field lining up this week will be unfamiliar with the venue. A par 71 layout, measuring just under 7200 yards, it’s a tough course to negotiate, offering a stiff test of driving distance and plenty of water hazards to deal with, along with a number of hidden bunkers.

In The Bunker
You don’t see too many of the top PGA Tour players crossing the Atlantic for regular European Tour events and Hunter Mahan’s name stands out towards the top of the antepost betting list. He heads to Germany in decent form, having played well for three rounds at the BMW Championship and he finished fourth at the Deutsch Bank Championship prior to that, but he has very little experience of playing in Europe and that’s enough to put me off backing him at 18/1.

Recommended Bets

Bernd Wiesberger ended a three year wait for a third European Tour title when he won the Open de France back in July and he can bag another trophy this week.

After missing the cut at the PGA Championship, he returned from a four week break to lead the Italian Open after the first day and remained in contention until a final round 72 saw him slip to fourteenth. Back him to build on that showing at odds of 14/1.

Maximillian Kieffer joined the European Tour in 2013 and hasn’t yet won a title, but he came close in his first season, losing out in a marathon play off at the Open de Espana and he gave another hint of his potential earlier this year when breaking the course record in his third round at the Irish Open. He has top fifteen finishes in his last two tournaments so heads to Munich in good form and offers plenty of value at 33/1.

The final name to add to your shortlist is veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez. He may be the wrong side of fifty but he still has the ability to compete with the best on the European Tour and has four top tens to his name this season. After missing the cut at the KLM Open he bounced back to finish inside the top fifteen in Italy, shooting an impressive final round of 65. At 40/1 he looks an interesting bet.

*Prices correct at time of publication