Niall Lyons shares his golf betting tips and preview for the Soudal Open after picking the winner on both main tours last week.
2023 Soudal Open Winner
Antwerp is the destination this week on the DPWT for the 2023 Soudal Open with the Rinkven venue staging this event for the second year on the trot. Pre Covid it also held the 2018 and 2019 Belgian Knockout events won by Guido Migliozzi and Adrian Otaegui.
Migliozzi also won at the Karen track in Kenya whilst a win for Otaegui around Valderrama certainly suggests this track could play similar to those shorter tree lined layouts. At short of 7000 yards and a par 71 it certainly doesn't appear to set up for the big hitters. Horsfield won last year ranking 5th in driving distance but only 51st in SG off the tee.
Despite being a tree lined track driving accuracy wasn't of much importance either, instead approach play holding up as the most important aspect with slightly smaller greens than usual. Horsfield was 3rd on approach last year, with runners up Fox and Paul ranking 1st and 4th respectively in the same category. With smaller greens scrambling certainly comes into the equation but there's no doubt unless your irons are firing this week you'll find it difficult to score.
Alexander Bjork at 18/1 (Eight Places)
Thomas Detry arrives in his home country at 16/1 and must consider this a huge opportunity to land a maiden victory. It's incredible we're still talking about Detry as a non major tour winner but here we are. He missed the cut here last year with a poor long game but the price is fair for someone of his talent and it'd be of no surprise should he manage to dispatch of a field of this quality.
He faces two very tough opponents towards the top in the shape of Thorbjorn Olesen and Alexander Bjork. I toyed with the idea of backing both of these this week but with a few outsiders fancied also I'll opt for just one, Bjork.
I rate Olesen much higher than the Swede and I feel he is on the verge of lifting his career to another level, but the fact he was 62nd in approach play last week steers me ever so slightly towards the Swede. Bjork closed with a 68 in Rome to finish 4th, a round that included a double bogey at the par 4 11th. He will be suited by the shorter track in Belgium and his approach play should give him ample opportunity to contend.
In two of the last three weeks, Italy and Japan, he has ranked 4th on approach play and that's the element that makes him the number one choice for me. Smaller greens means approach play will be key and for any of those targets missed there aren't many better on this stage than Bjork for wizardry both around and on the greens.
He opened with a 66 here last year eventually finishing 23rd but he arrived last term off the back of three missed cuts in his previous five events. This time around he is in a much better place and the venue looks ideal for the Swede to land his second tour victory.
2.5pts each-way A.Bjork 18/1 1/5 8 (Bet365 each way extra)
Eddie Pepperell at 50/1 (Eight Places)
Eddie Pepperell put behind a run of bad form and a three-month break to finish inside the top 10 in Italy and there is every reason to suggest he can improve upon that. He played the 14th and 15th in 3 over par on Sunday whilst the 8th hole alone cost him four bogeys across the four days. Other than those mishaps it was a very impressive week for the Englishman and he should be much more suited by this Rinkven track in Belgium.
He has spent the past few months honing his skills on a simulator set up in his home and it looked to pay dividends immediately ranking 8th in approach play in Italy. He ranked 3rd around the greens also so hits form in that department at the right time also with smaller greens to contend with here this week.
Eddie's results can imitate a roller coaster so there is a certain degree of caution urged but he has more talent and a higher ceiling than plenty above him in the market and must be on the staking plan around the 50/1 mark.
1.25pts each-way E.Pepperell 50/1 1/5 8 (Bet365 each way extra)
Daniel Van Tonder at 70/1 (Eight Places)
Daniel Van Tonder did very well to compete last week at Marco Simone given that ball busters dominated the top of the leaderboard in the end. Certainly through halfway it looked like a more strategic approach was winning out this time in Rome but that certainly changed as the weekend progressed.
Van Tonder doesn't hit the ball very far but he performed very well with the irons ranking 15th in the field. His previous start on the DPWT prior to Italy was the Jonsson Workwear Open where he ranked 2nd in the field that week in approach play.
Stats from that event must be taken with slight caution but it is enough evidence to suggest the South African is striking the ball well with his irons, which should be key around this layout this week. A win back in 2021 on the Karen track in Kenya is another positive heading to Belgium and the 70/1 on offer looks very fair.
1pt each-way D.Van Tonder 70/1 1/5 8 (bet365 each way extra)
Edoardo Molinari at 45/1 (Eight Places)
Edoardo Molinari missed the cut in his home Open last week but that is of little concern with him struggling length wise off the tee. Obviously you'd like his iron play to be better heading into this task this week but a sub 7000 yard golf course is exactly what he needs right now.
His putter of course is the big weakness but he putted well alongside Luke Donald in the Zurich Classic finishing 23rd there having been on the fringes of contention heading into the final day. He putted well in Kenya gaining on the field whilst also ranking inside the top 20 on the greens in Thailand.
Another good effort on the greens came in Abu Dhabi in January so it looks like the Italian is certainly performing better than usual in that department. Together with the top 25 at Zurich he has managed another four top 20 finishes in Kenya, Thailand, Abu Dhabi and South Africa. Not many of these tracks are entirely suited to Molinari either so it has been an impressive run of figures. He won at the Dar Salam track in Morocco which is another positive as well as finishing 9th here last year.
1pt each-way E.Molinari 45/1 1/5 8 (Skybet 8 place book, Bet365 each way extra)
Jeung-Hun Wang at 70/1 (Eight Places)
Jeung Hun Wang struggled last week in Italy but that doesn't look indicative of his form this year and I'm prepared to take the chance on a venue that should be much more suitable. The Korean was sidelined due to Military service during the past couple of years but has returned with some decent results most notably 3rd in Singapore, 8th in Thailand then 14th in Korea a few weeks ago.
Granted he may be more suited by those conditions but Rinkven could be ideal for his game. Dar Es Salam looks another track worthy of consideration for correlating form and he has a win there back in 2016. Winners such as Edoardo Molinari, Richie Ramsay, Horsey and Canizares certainly suggest a strategic operation needed there and winners here Migliozzi and Otaegui fit in that category.
The missed cut last week isn't ideal of course but it's important to note he played poorly on a long Ras Al Khaimah track missing the cut then returning to a much more suitable venue the following week in Singapore and finishing 3rd.
1pt each-way Jeung-Hun Wang 70/1 1/5 8 (Skybet 8 place book, Bet365 each way extra)
