They are still playing golf on the European Tour even though we haven’t covered them in a few weeks. To manage the season through a global pandemic changes to the schedule were necessary. One of those changes is the hastily organized UK Swing, a stretch of six straight tournaments taking place in the United Kingdom. This week’s fourth stop on the swing takes the Tour to Newport, Wales, for the one-off Celtic Classic hosted by the Celtic Manor Resort. While the PGA Championship was stealing headlines in the golf world last week, Andy Sullivan lapped the field for a 7-shot win at the English Championship. He opened this week as the co-favorite with Joost Luiten. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds for the Celtic Classic when you’re ready to place a wager.
Odds to Win Celtic Classic at BookMaker.eu
Joost Luiten +1110
Andy Sullivan +1110
Thomas Detry +1570
Thomas Pieters +1870
Kurt Kitayama +2200
Renato Paratore +2500
Ryan Fox +2500
Sam Horsfield +2500
Jordan Smith +3300
Gavin Green +3300
Chris Paisley +3300
Scott Jamieson +4000
Thorbjorn Olesen +4000
Ross Fisher +4000
Alexander Bjork +4000
Justin Harding +4500
Jason Scrivener +5000
Brandon Stone +5000
Min Woo Lee +5000
Nicolas Colsaerts +5000
Aaron Rai +5000
Adri Arnaus +5000
Pablo Larrazabal +5500
Lorenzo Gagli +5500
Richie Ramsay +6000
Sean Crocker +6600
Adrian Otaegui +6600
Antoine Rozner +6600
Jamie Donaldson +6600
Jorge Campillo +7000
Marcus Armitage +7000
Matthew Jordan +8000
Oliver Fisher +8000
Ashley Chesters +8000
Wilco Nienaber +8000
Scott Vincent +8000
Johannes Veerman +8000
Dean Burmester +8000
Connor Syme +8000
Odds Analysis
Thomas Pieters +1870
I don’t think anyone’s taken more time off after the shutdown than Pieters, so there is some concern about where his game is. He’s making his first appearance since the restart and he’s positioned just below the favorites making him an enticing pick. He looked good before the lockdown going 5 for 6 with a best showing of T3 at the Saudi Invitational. He made a run at the Mauritius Open to finish T13 and floundered in the last round at the Qatar Masters for a T21. Nobody hits the ball better and I’m counting on the rest paying dividends.
Alexander Bjork +4000
Hopefully a week off after a T3 at the Hero Open doesn’t derail the Bjork train. One course that is remarkably similar to Celtic Manor is Le Golf National in Paris, and we’ve seen the talented Swede finish third and eighth in two French Open starts. One area that has proved helpful at Celtic Manor is touch around the greens, and Bjork is deadly. This layout suits his game perfectly and backing Bjork is a solid play.
Alexander Levy +9000
Backing Levy is a risk but one that has a monster payday if it works out. His price is reflective of his recent play, but there were signs last week that things are turning around. Also, he’s a five-time winner on Tour so he knows what it takes. Last season was a waste and Levy used the lockdown to reinvent himself. He’s a fantastic ball-striker with the potential to go low at any time. He was holing putts at the Hero Open surging to 8-under after 36 holes. Things went downhill over the weekend, but overall it was an encouraging performance.
Chris Paisley +3300
If anybody should feel good about his game heading into this one it’s Paisley. He has eight red numbers in his last two starts grabbing a share of third at the Hero Open and a top-20 last week. His last start before the shutdown produced another four reds and a T7 at the Qatar Masters. Since we used Le Golf National as comparison for Bjork we might as well use it for Paisley. He grabbed a share of eighth at the French Open last October and his season stats point to a strong finish.
Kurt Kitayama +2200
A fast start and playing through the weekend at the PGA Championship last week should give Kitayama a boost of confidence as he returns to the Euro circuit for the first time since a T6 at the Dubai Desert Classic. He’s been working on the PGA Tour in the meantime with a T18 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am his best showing in five starts. I like his chances in a field more to his liking.
Course: Celtic Manor Resort – 7,354 yards, Par 71
Much like Muirfield Village hosted back-to-back events on the PGA Tour, the Twenty-Ten Course at Celtic Manor Resort will do the same with next week’s Wales Open set to take place on the same lot. The course plays 7,354 yards at par 71 and hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup and the Wales Open from 2008 to 2014. It’s a combination of nine holes from the old Wentworth Hills layout and nine new holes. The layout comes at players from all directions with a typical links-style design over the first third. Water is featured on the middle holes and outside a reachable par-4 15th the finish is a test. Four of the last six Wales Open winners on this track were single-digits under par, a good example of how difficult the course can be.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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