Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 29 July 2009 / Leave a Comment

This week's European Tour event in the Czech Republic may not be the most glamourous tournament of the year but The Prosper Golf resort does offer value, says Tareq Quiroz.

Anyone trying to follow all levels of golf really has got a busy week ahead. We have the Seniors US Open, the Women's British Open, the Buick Open featuring Tiger and of course the world renowned Moravia Silesia Open on the European Tour. I am not going to lie and say that as a golf enthusiast I am champing at the bit to watch the Moravia Silesia Open, but I do believe that this is where we will see most value on the punting front this week.

The Course

This tournament is effectively a renewal of the old Czech Open that was last played in 1997. It is a new course for which we have no form of any use. That isn't a great start but in all fairness we have so many new courses on both main tours that this isn't a hazard we can't overcome.

The Prosper Golf Resort is the venue and for any of you who are familiar with the area it is the Old Course on which this week's event will be held. At just over 7,100 yards it isn't that long for a par 72. There are plenty of short par fours which suggests that this is set up as an iron player's course and the signature hole is the island green par three 15th.

The Favourite

There is a clear jolly this week as the stand out name in the field is obviously Miguel Angel Jimenez. At first glance many people may be puzzled why someone like Jimenez has made the trip to the Czech Republic. After all, it is hardly the glamour event of the year. The reason is clear however as this course is one that Jimenez himself designed and he really had to be here for its debut on Tour. So, whilst most of the others won't have any course knowledge the best player in the field will have it all.

That's says everything you need to know. The Spaniard is the deserved favourite and despite it being a pressure week he is by far and away the best pick of the week at odds of around [12.5].

The Next Best Bets

This isn't the greatest field ever assembled for a European Tour event but there are still some value punts. There is nothing extra that really catches my eye on the first page of the market but a little further down I am drawn to Alastair Forsyth. The Scot is well suited to courses where the emphasis is on accurate iron play. Throughout his career he has flattered to deceive somewhat with a few pundits suggesting he was a potential Ryder Cupper. I don't think he is that good and with the standard of European golf going through the roof I think a few tour wins is the best he can achieve. One of those may well come here and at odds of [95.0] he certainly merits some support.

The Massive Outsider

There are some seriously average players in this field but there a few possibilities given the overall standard of the line-up. I think you will find James Kingston showing on the leaderboard for some period of the tournament. That may well last until Sunday so he would merit a place in your staking plan at odds of around [90.0].

Further down the market I will give a shot out to Andrew Coltart. He has shown the odd glimpse of form that would suggest he can still swing the club decent enough. He is hardly worth a major investment but at odds of [310.00] it can't hurt to have him on your side as a saver.

Interesting Info

The first European Tour event to be held on Czech soil was back in 1994 and we have just four of the players who participated in that event back for this year's return. We already know that Jimenez designed the course, but if he wins this week he will be the second Spaniard to win on a course they designed or redesigned. Olazabal already beat him to it back in 2005 with his win in the Mallorca Classic.

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