Niall Lyons has six tips for this week's DP World Tour Event, The Soudal Open.
Soudal Open
Antwerp is the destination this week on the DPWT for the 2026 Soudal Open with the Rinkven venue staging the strokeplay version of this event for the 5th 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.
Muthaiga is another Kenyan track that correlates nicely here. Daruis Van Driel won there in 2024 and was beaten in a playoff here last year. Eichenreid is another course to look at to see if we can narrow our search for a winner here.
At short of 7000 yards and a par 71 it certainly doesn't appear to set up for the big hitters. Horsfield won in 2022 ranking 5th in driving distance but only 51st in SG off the tee. Despite being a tree lined track driving accuracy isn't of much importance either, instead approach play holding up as the most important aspect with slightly smaller greens than usual.
Niall Lyons' 2026 Soudal Open Betting Tips
Thomas Detry - 3.5pt Win
Best odds of 12/1 with Sky Bet / Paddy Power.
Over the last few years there has been an overwhelming trend of those dropping in class managing to notch DPWT events on a regular basis. A handful of LIV golfers have added their name to that list and this week I'm happy to take a punt on the favourite Thomas Detry.
There is added pressure in his homeland but it's worth noting he has won for his country alongside Thomas Pieters. He also finished 3rd here in the Matchplay event in 2018 then 7th in the strokeplay version in 2023.
Since joining LIV he has been excellent, only twice being outside the top 7 in seven events. The most recent of those was a 6th place in Virginia which looked like perfect preparation for the PGA. He missed the cut there though, but only on the number so we shouldn't be so worried.
With LIV Golf's future now in jeopardy Detry needs to take these events seriously and he won't need much more encouragement than playing in front of his home fans. His approach play has been sparkling of late and he should absolutely be in the shake up here come the weekend. Anything less will be a failure in this type of field. Make no mistake, he is the standout performer in this field and should be licking his lips at this opportunity.
Calum Hill - 1.25pts Each-Way
45/1 and 8 places with Betfred's Extra Place market.
Since February Calum Hill has played in seven events finishing 6th in one and runner up in two others. A couple of missed cuts in there suggests it's feast or famine but I believe he could go well once again at Rinkven.
He missed he cut here last year but finished 18th the previous year and carded a 3rd round of 65 during that event. He is a neat enough player on his day who can really fire with the putter and I'm hoping he can continue where he left off in India last time out.
His form on these correlated golf courses stand out with 10th at Eichenreid, 3rd and 8th at Karen, and 4th, 8th and 9th at the Brabazon course. He should relish this test and has gone close on a handful of occasions this year already.
Darius van Driel - 1pt Each-Way
50/1 and 8 places with Betfred's Extra Place market.
Darius Van Driel may have missed the cut in Catalunya but prior to that he was 4th in Turkey, 8th in China and 18th in India. That was a solid run of form and there is a fair chance he turns up here in good nick once again.
He finished runner up here in the Belgian Knockout in 2019 then finished runner up again, beaten in a playoff last year. 10th at Karen, 11th and a victory at Muthaiga and 11th at the Belfry suggests Van Driel leaves his best performances for this type of test. I can't help but feel after his missed cut in Spain he has been slightly overlooked by the bookmakers.
Andrew Johnston - 1pt Each-Way
125/1 and 6 places available when publishing.
I can't resist triple figure prices about Andrew Johnston in what would be one of the best stories of the year should he oblige this week. The Englishman has faced many battles down the years but looks to be heading in the right direction and this test should really suit.
25th in China last month was a fair effort but it is his performances in Turkey and Catalunya that really catch the eye. 61st and 37th across those two events doesn't quite tell the full story as his ball striking during those two weeks was off the charts good. The short game suffered though and in particular the putter which will need to improve. However, iron play is extremely important here and he's passing that test with flying colours of late.
A former winner at Valderrama, a couple of top 3s at Crans and a runner up at DLF suggest his best performances come on these tight golf courses. He is trending in the right direction and should definitely be a part of anyone's staking plan here this week in Belgium.
Andy Sullivan - 1pt Each-Way
60/1 and 8 places available with Betfred's extra place market.
Andy Sullivan is another who makes the grade this week despite some early triple figure quotes disappearing fast. I'm hoping he can turn around some recent poor form and bounce back on a test that really suits.
Sullivan had a nice March finishing 9th in the Hainan Classic then 3rd at the Indian Open. A couple of poor efforts followed but he should be much more suited by the test this week. A shorter golf course is almost necessary for Sullivan these days and finishes of 9th and 11th here in his four appearances at Rinkven shows what he is capable of on these layouts.
He has posted finishes of 5th, 6th and 9th in recent years at the Brabazon course at the Belfry which is another pointer as to who can go well here in Belgium. His 11th place here last year came after a missed cut so his form the last few weeks doesn't bother me an awful lot and instead I'll look more to how he goes in general on these types of courses.
Marcus Helligkilde - 0.5pts Each-Way
400/1 and 8 places available with bet365's Extra Place market.
Finally I'll have a small bet on Marcus Helligkidle. The talented Dane has had his career put on hold due to neck surgery and after two years out he eased his way back in by playing a couple of Nordic Golf League events before stepping back onto the DPWT in Catalunya a couple of weeks ago. He missed the cut there but it is worth noting that his second round of 67 was only beaten by five other golfers.
He played extremely well that day and for someone so talented maybe he can give us a run for our money at huge prices. It probably is a bit too early but should he play well this week the redress in his price in the coming weeks will be huge. We'll take the chance of trying to be on early.
