European Masters - Winner

The venue in Crans, Switzerland is one of the highlights of the DP World Tour season and the tournament has always been supported by the great and the good of the European game. Various factors now collide to slightly take the shine off this event in terms of field strength but it remains one of the most coveted prizes on the tour.. The golfers are here to win and getting your name on the winners list here is a feather in the cap for any pro. It is played at altitude and length never appears to be an advantage here. A straight accurate long game is required for success around here and greens in regulation is always a worthy stat to keep an eye on. If you decide to attack the course and take on the par 4s a sparkling short game will be required. Even with the conservative approach scrambling will be an important aspect. Ball striking is a huge part of the equation here and those who can manufacture their way around here with an impressive long game will give themselves a big chance to contend over the weekend. 

Matt Wallace at 40/1 (Eight Places)

Matt Wallace hasn't pulled up any Spruces here down the years but must be closely watched coming off the PGA Tour with this drop down in class. It must be noted he hasn't been uprooting many trees across the water either but he is only three weeks out since a top 10 in the Rocket Mortgage which followed a top 30 finish in the 3M Open. A largely uncharacteristic week on approach at the Wyndham led to a missed cut but the potential for a big performance in a DPWT event remains. His last two jaunts on this tour at the European and Dutch Open's led to 18th and 5th finishes respectively. I've always believed Wallace's strengths lie on slightly more strategic layouts and although he has a modest enough record around here he could be a force in a much weaker renewal than what he has played in previously at Crans. 

1.5pts each-way M.Wallace 40/1 (1/5 8)

Matt Wallace - 1.5pts e/w @ 40/1

Victor Perez at 25/1 (Eight Places)

Victor Perez lies 28th on the DPWT rankings for the season and it isn't hard to see why. He has only made 9 appearances on this tour this season with just one missed cut amongst them. The Frenchman is on a trajectory back to where he was just over a year ago and more wins will surely be on the horizon. The huge turnaround in form is largely due to his improvement off the tee compared to 2021 with distance and accuracy improving ten fold from the end of last year. 8th in Spain in April was a sign of things to come and he eventually got back in the winners circle winning the Dutch Open with a series of miraculous putts to keep him in the mix with Ryan Fox down the final few holes and during the playoff. He came close to going back to back with a top 3 finish the following week in Germany. A better week with the irons in Prague could have resulted in a higher finish than 23rd, but a final round of 66 was only beaten by one other on Sunday. He should be licking his chops at this event given it is weaker than recent years and there is every chance he adds to an already impressive season. 

1.5pts each-way V.Perez 25/1 (1/5 8)

Victor Perez - 1.5pts e/w @ 25/1

Guido Migliozzi at 60/1 (Eight Places)

Guido Migliozzi is difficult to ignore here given he has form figures of 7-33 and has shown signs lately that he could peak at any moment and land a long awaited return to the winners enclosure. A few years ago it looked like the Italian could go on to achieve a lot in the game and although there have been big moments, he has failed to hit the heights of 2019. Last year he finished 4th in the US Open and only a couple of months ago he performed beyond expectations once again finishing 14th at Brookline. 18th at Galgorm was a decent effort and if he can improve a little off the tee then he has a high ceiling to reach. He showed earlier in his career how he liked a tree lined layout with this being tight in many places it should suit. He is a hot talent capable of big things and with this field on this venue looks to be fair value around the 66/1 mark.

1pt each-way G.Migliozzi 60/1 (1/5 8)

Guido Migliozzi - 1pt e/w @ 60/1

Santiago Tarrio at 100/1 (Eight Places)

Santiago Tarrio arrives here for first time and the Spaniard could have the perfect game for this mountainous task. He made the halfway cut last time out in the North of Ireland before succumbing to a third round of 79 and missing out on the final day action at Galgorm Castle. The 31 year old is a shade inconsistent but has posted three top 20 finishes in his last seven events. He doesn't have the power off the tee to compete every week on the tour and we can put some of his poorer efforts down to course suitability. If he wants to remain on the tour for the next ten years then venues such as Crans are where he can make progress. He keeps the ball in play from the tee better than most and with a solid approach game leads to one of the better ball strikers in the field. The putter is somewhat of an issue but if he can bounce back from that horror 3rd round at Galgorm then this venue could suit.

0.75pt each-way S.Tarrio 100/1 (1/5 8)

Santiago Tarrio - 0.75pts e/w @ 100/1

Stephen Gallacher at 300/1 (Seven Places)

An outsider worth considering is veteran Stephen Gallacher. The Scot has no reason to panic around the Swiss Alps with a host of top 25 finishes here down the years. He has been struggling with his long game most of the year but signs were good last week in Prague where he finished 30th with a much better ball striking performance. He ranked 11th on approach last week which is very encouraging and the wily old fox may just upstage the swashbuckling tournament favourite. His short game remains is very good nick to contend any event these days but the missing piece of the jigsaw has been the long game. Signs are good that it's returning to a decent level and he looks one worth chancing at big odds.

0.5pt each-way S.Gallacher 300/1 (1/5 7)

Stephen Gallacher - 0.5pts e/w @ 300/1