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Jason Daniels takes a look at the Andalucía Masters, picking out his Best Bets for the tournament.
We may have sadly lost Valderrama as host, but the move to sister course Real Club sees us keep the Robert Trent-Jones theme going, with at least a nod to the difficulty provided by its neighbour.
Winding tree-lined fairways, a multitude of bunkers, water hazards and sloping raised and lowered greens all feature this week. The set-up will be a learning curve for the tour, although, for punters, there is a legitimate link to work with.
The San Roque course has held the Europeans Nations Cup since 1970, with more recent winners Shane Lowry, Julien Brun, Adrien Saddier, Guido Migliozzi and Todd Clements adding to a roll call of future European Tour winners that includes Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia. Take the more obvious away and those winners suggest an element of players that perform well at Kenya, Qatar, Himmerland and Crans. You have to work with something.
Full respect to Wyndham Clark, a slightly bizarre entry here. The current US Open champion adds an element of class that all the others have yet to reach and, based on that and his season-ending third place at East Lake, he’s a gimme. However, he’s in Spain for the first time following an inauspicious appearance at the Ryder Cup and hasn’t played a full 72 round event since the Tour Championship at the end of August.
With more recent events to his name and with form in Spain, Ryan Fox appeals in a match bet against the jolly. With finishes of 1/2/3 in his last four starts and a fourth place at Valders, he is fairly priced at around 12/1 in the outrights, but I’m happy to look elsewhere. He does look a gimme for Top Oceanic Player, however, even if 4/7 won’t appeal to all.
It’s interesting that Adrian Meronk still trades shorter than Robert MacIntyre despite the latter’s fortunes at the Ryder Cup, whilst Alexander Bjork continues to be put in far shorter than some proven winners, despite not having fallen over the line for five years.
Adrian Otaegui
The 30-year-old is a four-time winner on tour with the most obvious connection being his six-shot winning margin last year. Untouchable during that week, he came into the event after a run of T13 at Wentworth, 25th in Italy, T13 in France and a missed-cut at the Dunhill Links, and the Spaniard’s recent form isn’t far off.
2023 lead-in events have this time rewarded the 30-year-old with 45th at the K-Club (21st after three rounds), a consistent 36th at Wentworth, 16th in France and last week’s top-30 at Club de Campo (14th into Sunday).
Prior to those, the home player had finished runner-up at the KLM and fourth at Galgorm Castle, part of a run of 12 cuts made from his last 14 starts.
The all-round game works, ranking in the top five for driving accuracy, top 10 for approach and again for around-the-green over the past three months. He appears to be approaching his peak for this week and says he can’t wait to return to an area he knows well.
“It’s a course that suits me, although there are holes I don’t know after the renewal. I can’t wait to play the practice round. I have great memories of the Sotogrande area, of going as a teenager with 14 or 15 years when I could, in winter, to train with wind and with a different grass to the vene outings one we have in the north. It is an area I am very fond of.”
Ewen Ferguson
The 26-year-old Scot is yet another proven winner on tour, with wins at Qatar and Galgorm Castle sitting well alongside a near miss in Kenya (led field to run-in) and when beaten by Oliver Wilson’s miracle putter in Denmark.
It’s surprising he hasn’t won in 2023 but there have been plenty of signs even if the consistency doesn’t quite match that of 12 months ago.
Back-to-back top five finishes in South Africa suggested the 27-year-old was in for a good year, and whilst there are eight missed-cuts on the card, he has finished fourth at The Belfry, 12th at the Scottish Open, 10th in France when in the final grouping, and again in the top 10 in Spain last week.
That effort just a few days ago was Ferguson’s best iron display since the Renaissance Club, that top-10 ranking ensuring he finished inside the top-30 for tee-to-green for the seventh time in his last nine completed starts.
Form in Spain is admirable, with seven outings on the Challenge Tour highlighted with a runner-up behind home player Santiago Tarrio, and three further top-15s. Top-10 in Mallorca and last week suggests he can continue his liking in this part of the world.
It was very tempting to put up any of Langasque, Migliozzi, and Julien Brun, but the one that just missed out was Marcus Helligkilde, a player that first caught the eye at Bernadus when a mere rookie, and who now has made six cuts in a row, including a top five finish at Galgorm and last weekend’s top-10.
With three wins in Spain at a lower level, though including the Challenge Tour finale, he is one to watch. Instead, I’ve taken one of the most consistent iron players at a workable price.
Fabrizio Zanotti
40-year-old Fabrizio Zanotti has just two European Tour wins, but being at Larchenhof and at Saujana, his MO is long established.
The Paraguayan currently rides high in the lists for driving accuracy and iron play, ranking top-10 for tee-to-green in Korea, Crans and last week in Spain, whilst just a year ago he finished in the top 16 in Switzerland, Denmark and Wentworth, all pointers to the task ahead.
Form of 26th and fourth at Valders reads nicely, alongside two top-12s and last week’s top five at the Spanish Open.
Winning will be tough but, at the current price, there is plenty there for each-way and top-20 backers.
