Damien Kayat previews the 2023 Omega European Masters.
2022/2023 DP World Tour
Omega European Masters
Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland
31st August- 3rd September
Viktor Hovland’s resounding victory at East Lake has given European golf a bit of a shot in the arm ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup. This week’s Omega European Masters is the last chance for any of the European side to secure an automatic qualifying spot. The core of the European team is utterly elite, with four team members currently ranked within the world’s top ten. It’s the other spots that will be giving Luke Donald and co sleepless nights. Robert Macintyre currently holds onto the final automatic qualifying spot but he’s hardly been the most convincing of late. Prospective team members Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg flirted with contention at last week’s Czech Masters before stumbling in crucial moments. Elsewhere, the likes of Adrian Meronk and Yannick Paul will be desperately hoping to force Donald’s hand with a stellar showing this week.
It’s quite fitting that this last-ditch battle for Ryder Cup selection will take place at one of the tour’s most familiar events: the Omega European Masters. Formerly known as the Swiss Open, the Omega European Masters has been part of the European schedule since its inception in 1972. The old Swiss Open dates back all the way to 1923 and Crans-sur-Sierre has hosted every renewal since 1939. In 2009, this became the first event in Europe to be co-hosted by the Asian Tour. It generated some real media buzz in 2006, with Michelle Wie accepting an invitation to play the event. The American was fixated on breaking down gender barriers in the game and Crans was a logical venue for that experiment (more on that later). But it was ultimately pretty disastrous, with Wie finishing dead last at 15-over-par.
Set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Swiss Alps, Crans-sur-Sierre is undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking sights in world golf. The course dates all the way back to 1908, with Seve Ballesteros overseeing a dramatic renovation of the course back in 1999. It’s pretty easy to see why Michelle Wie thought she could be competitive around this layout: Crans-sur-Sierre is a par 70 that measures around 6,800 yards. This makes it one of the shortest courses on the entire European calendar. Furthermore, the course is situated at around 4000 feet above sea level. What you do off the tee here is pretty much irrelevant. The key to success here is a solid approach game and elite scrambling skills. The fairways feature dramatic undulations that can hoover your ball into oblivion. The smaller-than-average greens will require some precise play from the fairways.
2022 US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick is pretty much guaranteed a place in Donald’s side and he will be using this as a glorified practice session. It also doesn’t hurt that the deadly accurate Englishman happens to be a course specialist, winning back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. Elsewhere, the likes of Meronk and Paul will be desperately trying to put some pressure on Macintyre this week. I wonder if it’s perhaps best to avoid the Ryder Cup ‘bubble boys’ this week. There is almost too much at stake for these guys- just look at how Hojgaard and Aberg faltered in contention last week. This promises to be an extremely tense week that should make for riveting- and picturesque- viewing.
Past Winners
2022: Thirston Lawrence (-18) *playoff
2021: Rasmus Hojgaard (-13)
2020: event cancelled
2019: Sebastian Soderberg (-14) * playoff
2018: Matthew Fitzpatrick (-17) *playoff
2017: Matthew Fitzpatrick (-14) *playoff
Betting Favourites (To Win)
Matthew Fitzpatrick (4/7), Nicolai Hojgaard (87/100), Adrian Meronk (6/5), Rasmus Hojgaard (10/11)
Value Bets
Yannick Paul- To Win (10/1)
I know I basically warned against playing the ‘bubble boys’. But Yannick Paul probably doesn’t have the same level of expectation on him this week as Macintyre or the Hojgaard twins. The German would leapfrog Macintyre into the final automatic qualifying spot with victory here. And he has just the sort of accuracy-based game to do that. He currently ranks 11th on tour in approach play and he is fresh off a solid top ten at the Albatross. I think he has the temperament to throw a spanner in the works this week.
The Man to Beat- Matt Wallace- To Win 4/5
Englishman Matt Wallace looks like really excellent value this week. This is a pernickety little course that tends to reward familiarity. Wallace lost to Lawrence in a playoff last year and he comes into this in pretty good form. He finished runner-up in last week’s Czech Masters and he has been playing some really solid golf Stateside. He won the Corales Puntacana event earlier this season and he has made the cut in four of his last five US PGA Tour events.
