The DP World Tour makes its way to the beautiful Rinkven International Golf Club in Antwerp for the 2023 edition of the Soudal Open. Damien Kayat previews.
2022/2023 DP World Tour
Soudal Open
Rinkven International Golf Club, Antwerp
11th-14th May
I’m going to take a mini victory lap for backing 60/1 outsider Romain Langasque to win last week’s Italian Open. The Frenchman finished just a shot back of eventual winner Adrian Meronk at Marco Simone GC.
But it just goes to show how important it is to match every week’s field with the respective course (especially on this unpredictable tour).
The Soudal Open
The tour moves from Italy to Belgium for the recently reimagined Soudal Open. This is essentially a resuscitation of the Belgium Open. The Belgian Open was first staged in 1910 and was won by Frenchman Arnaud Massey.
It has only been a sporadic presence on the European Tour and was staged under the guise of the Belgian Knockout in 2018 and 2019. Last year saw the event reconfigured as a 72-hole stroke-play contest under its current moniker: the Soudal Open.
Rinkvin International Golf Club
The event returns to Rinkvin International Golf Club, host of the two editions of the Belgian Knockout and last year’s fresh Soudal Open renewal.
Originally designed by Paul Rolin in 1985, the Rinkvin is a parkland affair that drifts between tree-lined holes and more exposed holes. This week’s layout is a composite of the North and South courses (seemingly the same combination that was used at last year’s renewal).
The course is a generally flat course with Poa Annua fairways and smaller than average Bentgrass greens. There are some tight fairways that require precision from the tee. It is almost comically short by modern standards and seems to reward the more accurate types.
All eight of the Belgian Knockout semi-finalists favoured accuracy over distance. But Sam Horsfield’s victory last year bucked that trend (he ranked 5th for Driving Distance and 58th for Driving Accuracy).
Still, I would still lean toward those who find fairways and greens. Perhaps form at courses such as Valderrama and the Belfry should correlate well this week. Also look for efficient scramblers with these smaller-than-average greens in mind.
The Contenders
Thomas Detry returns from the States to lead this week’s market. The home favourite failed to really impress himself on the American stage. His runner-up finish to Seamus Power in October’s Barracuda Championship was really promising. But he has largely disappointed since and will be hoping that a trip home can reap some benefits.
The straight-hitting Alexander Bjork arrives in decent form while Thorbjorn Olesen is arguably the classiest player in the entire field. The pair of Jorge Campillo and Yannick Paul arrive with probably the best current form. This should prove to be a fascinating week in this gorgeous woodland area of Antwerp.
Past Winners
2022: Sam Horsfield (-13)
2019: Guido Migliozzi *at the Belgian Knockout staged at Rinkvin
2018: Adrian Otaegui *at the Belgian Knockout staged at Rinkvin
To Win Outright:
Betting TBA*
Ewen Ferguson
Ewen Ferguson just makes sense at this pernickety layout. The 26-year-old Glaswegian missed the cut last week, looking understandably rusty after five weeks out. But he should feel a little more match-ready this week. I expect him to find some of the form that he had prior to his brief hiatus, where he finished 3rd at the SDC Championship and 4th at the Jonsson Workwear Open. The two-time Tour winner also has some real course history, finishing 3rd at the Belgian Knockout on debut in 2019.
Ugo Coussaud
Maybe I’m just riding a high on Frenchman after Romain Langasque’s performance last week. But this week I’m going to take a chance on current Road to Mallorca leader Ugo Coussaud. It’s obviously going to be a huge step up in quality from the Challenge Tour. But form is still form. He has finished 1st, 15th and 2nd in his last three Challenge Tour starts. He has also shown form in the co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour, picking up a 2nd and 6th place finish in those events. 70/1 is an amazing price for a player regularly hanging around the top of leaderboards.
The Man to Beat- Adrian Otaegui
Inaugural Belgian Knockout winner Adrian Otaegui makes a very compelling case this week at 25/1. That was his 2nd DP World Tour win (his first came on a similar parkland layout in Germany). He has won two more since (including at the corollary course Valderrama). Otaegui gave one of the performances of 2022 at Valderrama, expertly navigating the narrow fairways en route to a brilliant six-shot victory. He is the leader in the field for Strokes Gained: Approach and currently leads the tour in scrambling.
