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European Open Preview: Rose and Green to rule in the garden of England

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Tareq Quiroz looks at the European Open taking place at The London Club, Kent, and featuring a galaxy of golfing stars

There has been no shortage of great finishes to golf tournament in recent weeks. The drama at the US Open was almost unbearable, then Martin Kaymer somehow threw a six shot lead away before recovering to win in Germany and finally last week we saw exactly why Woody Austin should never see a penny of a backer's money. This week there is every chance of something similar and I feel that the most appealing of the two events this is the intriguing renewal of the European Open.

The K Club in Ireland has been the host of the European Open for the last 13 years but that honour is now firmly in the hands of the London Club. It is a Jack Nicklaus-designed course that should provide a stiff test for what is a decent field. At over 7,200 yards the Kent based course should play pretty long if the expected rains fall over the coming days. With no real form to go on at the course it is more a matter of trying to see what type of player this course will suit.

The top order in this field is of a very high quality and it is there that you must start your search for the winner. Sergio Garcia, quite rightly, holds a position at the top of the market and he will be a difficult man to beat if transferring his recent US form back onto the European circuit. However, I am never a fan of taking a relatively short price about Garcia. I don't feel that you get the best out of Garcia in these types of events and he is one to leave alone this week.

Although I am leaving the Spaniard out of my staking plan this week, my main selection is also someone returning from the US Tour. Justin Rose must be excited about a return to Royal Birkdale in a few weeks time and you can be sure he will be keen to get some good European form under his belt before then. It was a very slow start to the season for Rose but it appears that he is now starting to regain some confidence and as a top ten in the world player he has to be respected. At current odds of [18.5] he is definitely the main selection this week.

Many of this week's field had the unenviable task of going to an Open qualifying event on Monday to play 36 holes. Those who came through that will take plenty of confidence into this week and it is one of those lucky guys who get my saver bet. Alexander Noren is a winner waiting to happen and I am pretty sure he will take a title this season. The young Swede just needs to get a break at the right time and I am sure he has the nerve to step through the door and take his chance. Coming off his Open qualification now is the time to back him and at odds of around [85.0] he represents decent value.

Despite last week's runaway success for the exciting Pablo Larrazabal there were several other players who showed signs of good form. One that particularly caught my eye was the Aussie Richard Green. A strong finish to the event saw him take fourth spot and he appears to be a player hitting form. He isn't exactly one to get in the winner's circle on a regular basis but he certainly maintains a consistent form level. The best place to take advantage of this is in the Tournament Match Bets. Green is up against out of form Bradley Dredge this week and he must be supported in his match bet against the Welshman at current odds of [1.7].

The Open is just around the corner and the build up to the event is likely to be an unusual one this year with the absence of Tiger Woods. Unfortunately for the European players this will undoubtedly put more pressure on them to collect the trophy again. I think they will do just that and this week might just be the week for someone like Rose to take his game to the next level at the right time.