Betfair Official Blog

Mercedes-Benz Championship betting and odds preview

With no fewer than 16 first-time winners on the European Tour during the 2007 season, the betting is likely to be wide open when the new Mercedes-Benz Championship takes place in Germany next month.

This year has been one of the most open in the recent history of the tour and, with an elite field of 78 competing and 37 different winners eligible, it appears no easy task to pick the winner when the event takes place at Gut Larchenhof on September 13-16, with plenty of value likely to be available in the betting market.

Players eligible for the tournament include all the winners on the European Tour during the 2007 season, anyone who is ranked in the world's top 75 and the 60 leading players in the Order of Merit from September 3.

While Open champion Padraig Harrington and Englishmen Luke Donald and Justin Rose are likely to miss the event, the tournament will still attract a world-class field where the likes of Ryder Cup stalwarts Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie could be popular each-way bets at attractive odds.

Langer, co-promoter of the tournament with his brother, narrowly missed out on victory at the BMW International Open in June when he finished runner-up to Nicolas Fasth and would dearly love to win on home soil this year.

While Monty's form has been a little more erratic this year than last, the eight-time Order of Merit winner maintains the fierce desire to win - as he showed with victory at the European Open - and he will be an interesting figure to watch in the betting.

Fasth and Argentina's Andres Romero will both be seeking to record a memorable double after winning in Germany earlier in the year and their form in 2007 indicates they will be among the pre-tournament favourites in the betting.

Sweden's Fasth, twice a winner in 2006, has carried on where he left off last year recording four top-five finishes and seven top-ten places in 2007, while Romero has been inspired over the last six weeks since his joint third at The Open Championship and both appear good bets.

Paul Casey has largely flattered to deceive this season since winning in Abu Dhabi in January, but his second round 66 at the US Open was one of the best anywhere in the world in 2007 and he may be available at attractive odds prior to the tournament.

Finn Mikko Ilonen has been one of the finds of 2007 with two wins and, after his victory at the Scandinavian Masters, could be a player to watch at inviting odds.

Australian left-hander Richard Green may also feature prominently in the betting and be one for the shortlist after winning the BA-CA Open in Austria and recording five top-five and six top-ten finishes in 2007including - including a fine performance at The Open Championship.