Bernd Wiesberger is 14/1 favourite for the Cazoo Classic on the Heritage Course at the London Club in Kent.
The Austrian giant, an eight-time European Tour champion, is hoping to win a place on Europe’s Ryder Cup team. He knows that victory in the Cazoo Open is needed to keep him in the hunt for a spot on Padraig Harrington’s side.
Harrington has only three wild-card selections available to him, so Wiesberger probably needs to qualify automatically to earn a Ryder Cup debut. Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose are outside of the qualification places, and Harrington seems likely to opt for experienced wild-cards for an away fixture against the United States.
Wiesberger has been well backed for the Cazoo, shortening all week, but it must be noted that he has finished in the top 20 in just two of his last 15 events. This is a weak field, but big Bernd is not certain to dominate.
Norrman Capable of Tour breakthrough
Better value at more than double the odds of Wiesberger is the 28/1 about Vincent Norrman, a Swedish youngster who has made an impressive start to life on the European Tour.
The 23-year-old followed 12th place in the Scandinavian Mixed with fifth spot in the BMW International Open, during which he made a hole-in-one at a par-four.
The newcomer followed up his BMW heroics with tenth place in the Cazoo Open and 11th in the ISPS HANDA World Invitational.
Those sparkling performances have been enough to earn a sponsors invite to the Cazoo Classic – and Norrman can be expected to make the most of this opportunity.
He is an extremely powerful player – already establishing himself as one of the best ball-strikers on the circuit – and the four par-fives at the London Club should be at his mercy.
The fairways are fairly wide on this track, so the former college star can regularly get driver in his hand and attack with all guns blazing.
Hojgaard Should Enjoy London Club
The 35/1 about Rasmus Hojgaard may also appeal to many outright punters.
The 20-year-old Danish dude has already won two European Tour titles – and the second of those successes came in England at The Belfry.
Hojgaard seems to love English parkland tracks. He was second in last year’s British Masters at Close House and third in the English Championship at Hanbury Manor.
The main test of this week’s layout is how difficult the approaches are – the greens are heavily guarded by bunkers and water hazards – and Hojgaard’s typically laserlike iron-shots are a significant asset.
His last event was the Olympics – in which he finished in the middle of the pack – but that field was full of superstars like Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.
The Cazoo Classic is an immense drop in grade and it would come as no surprise to see Hojgaard complete a European Tour hat-trick on Sunday. He may develop into one of the Europe’s best ever players.
*All odds correct at time of writing