A new addition to the schedule has the European Tour in the Canary Islands this week for the inaugural Gran Canaria Lopesan Open. The event kicks off the Canary Islands Swing that includes the next two tournaments in Tenerife. The Tour makes its first stop on the islands in more than 15 years with Meloneras Golf playing host. The resort course opened in 2006 and will present the usual challenges of a coastal layout. Antoine Rozner emerged as the betting favorite, however, odds suggest a wide-open field on what amounts to a new course for the field. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Odds to Win Gran Canaria Lopesan Open at BookMaker.eu
Antoine Rozner +1600
Sam Horsfield +2000
Matthias Schwab +2200
Andy Sullivan +2200
Rafael Cabrera Bello +2800
Kurt Kitayama +2800
Joost Luiten +3000
John Catlin +3000
Victor Dubuisson +3300
Justin Harding +3300
Callum Hill +3300
Fabrizio Zanotti +3300
Michael Lorenzo-Vera +3500
Mikko Korhonen +3500
Romain Langasque +4000
Garrick Higgo +4000
Joachim Hansen +4000
Marcus Armitage +4500
Kalle Samooja +4500
Wil Besseling +4500
Sean Crocker +4500
Guido Migliozzi +4500
Jamie Donaldson +5000
Thorbjorn Olesen +5000
Dean Burmester +5000
Johannes Veerman +5500
Maximilian Kieffer +5500
Adri Arnaus +5500
Adrian Otaegui +6000
Masahiro Kawamura +6000
Andrew Johnston +6600
Jeff Winther +6600
Odds Analysis
Sam Horsfield +2000
The course lines up well for Horsfield, who has a pair of wins on tracks that are better suited for birdies and eagles. His wins last August came two weeks apart at the Hero Open and Celtic Classic where he shot 18-under both times. He also enters on a nice run of form having gone T15 or better in his last three starts where birdies were plentiful. And the Englishman won’t be bothered by the occasional gusts of wind having competed on a number of coastal courses in his homeland.
Rafael Cabrera Bello +2800
Cabrera Bello is the sentimental pick and not a bad one if he can overcome the duties of serving as host and playing a home game. Born in the Gran Canaria capital, RCB has helped grow the game on the islands and is looking forward to a return. “It’s a proud moment for me to host a tournament on Gran Canaria. I can’t wait to tee off. He opened the year with a solo fourth in Abu Dhabi but hasn’t finished inside the top 30 in three starts since. I do like his chances this week, though.
Kurt Kitayama +2800
Since there is no player data from the Meloneras course, going off correlated venues gives plenty of value to Kitayama. The American has wins in Oman and Mauritius as well as a top-10 in Qatar, which are all similar tracks to what he’ll attack this week. That doesn’t mean success, but it’s as good a reason as any to back Kitayama. Oh, and if you needed more there’s this: he has a pair of top-10s among four top-20s in his last five starts.
Matthias Schwab +2200
He has yet to win on Tour, but Schwab is playing like he wants that spell to end. He earned a share of seventh last week in Austria, his second straight T7 and third top-10 in his last six starts. Not that it has anything to do with golf game, but Schwab was born in a resort town so at least he knows what to expect.
Marcus Armitage +4500
Taking a peek further down the odds board, the recent play of Armitage stands out. He comes in on the heels of two straight top-10s that included a T4 in Austria last week. He also posted a T10 at the Kenya Savannah classic in his previous start and his scrambling was top-notch in both tournaments. That’s a key stat this week and if he continues there’s no reason to believe he won’t be in contention come Sunday. The price isn’t bad either and worth dropping a few bucks.
Course: Meloneras Golf – 6,503 yards, Par 70
At just over 6,500 yards, Meloneras isn’t a particularly daunting course. Players will need to focus on their game and not the surrounding beauty of the layout that was built in 2006. Located on Gran Canaria’s south coast, players will experience the elements of coastal golf, especially on the back nine, which runs along the Atlantic Ocean. The greens on holes 13-16 seem to merge with the coast, that’s how close the field is to taking a dip. The front nine is more inland with the Canarian Mountains and numerous palm trees adding to the backdrop. As a resort the course is designed more for tourists and added to the schedule on short notice no major changes were made so we can expect low numbers this week.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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