Soudal Open Each-Way Tips: Ashun can Wu the win again

Main Bet: Ashun Wu 1pt each-way @ 50/1

The history of Belgian golf lies hidden in a forgotten corner of European golf.

There's the distinct possibility that a very basic form of the game was being played in the country as early as the 14th century and there is rather more solid evidence of golf taking a grip in the late 19th century in the shape of the Open champion Willie Park-designed Royal Antwerp (in the early 20th century the much-respected architect Harry Colt created the much-loved Royal Zoute).

The Belgium Open was first contested in 1910 and it has been won by many of the greats, Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, Roberto Di Vicenzo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Nick Faldo among them.

It was also won five times by the nation's finest-ever player, Flory Van Donck, who was good enough to twice finish runner-up in the Open and, had Europe participated in the Ryder Cup before 1979, this prolific winner of events across the continent would surely have played an integral part of the match's history.

The championship was a common fixture on the DP World Tour from the mid-80s through to 2000 whereupon it disappeared, then reappeared as the Belgian Knockout in 2018 and 2019, fled again, and now it re-emerges renamed the Soudal Open.

As in 2018 and 2019 the host course is Rinkven International in Antwerp, a club with two courses and a hybrid of the two is in action.

It's an often well-wooded, and sometimes tight, layout that produced winners - Adrian Otaegui and Guido Migliozzi - who have thrived on other narrow tracks on the circuit.

It also has visuals that are reminiscent of the in-land courses of south-east England: not just tree-lined, but possessing similar turf, plant life, and shaping, too.

A player who is comfortable between the trees is the order of the week and China's Ashun Wu was already won in such circumstances this season, at Muthaiga in the Kenya Open.

Moreover, even outside of that peak, he's been ticking along in pretty good form this year and quotes of 40/1 and bigger look handy to me this week.

He's added six top 30s to the win, two of them in the last fortnight at PGA Catalunya and The Belfry.

In his back history, he has plenty of success on parkland, tree-lined courses in Japan and he is a four-time winner on the DP World Tour so likes the thrill of the Sunday chase for victory.

If you look at scoring for the last six months the likely candidates are up there and priced accordingly: Sam Horsfield, Ryan Fox, Thomas Pieters, Oliver Bekker, Adrian Meronk, Thorbjorn Olesen, Bernd Wiesberger.

Wu comes next, he's a much bigger price, he's already won this year and he has it in him to do so again.

Next Best: Fabrizio Zanotti 1pt each-way @ 50/1

I often write in these pages of the danger of high expectations to a golfer's aspirations and I suspect Fabrizio Zanotti had plenty of them when he returned to PGA Catalunya two weeks ago, it being a spot where he had finished second in the past.

Alas, he promptly missed a first cut since the British Masters of last May, but he righted that with a fine display last week when tied eighth back at The Belfry.

It was not only the numbers he signed on the card that were impressive: he ranked eighth for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, sixth for Approach and 20th for Around the Green, all of that consistency leading him to land number one spot for Tee to Green.

He's making his course debut this week but he's a fellow who enjoys this sort of test.

Among his recent highlights are tied fourth at Valderrama in last year's Andalucia Masters and tied seventh at Galgorm Castle in the 2020 Irish Open - both tight, tree-lined parkland layouts.

He grew up playing that sort of golf in Paraguay and then on the Tour de las Americas in his early professional career.

Since graduating to the DP World Tour he has finished tied second at Hilversum, won at Gut Larchenhof, tied third at Milano, tied second on the Marquess Course at Woburn, tied seventh at Wentworth, won at Saujana, and been tied third at Crans.

He can maintain the form of last week and push on to contend again.

Final Bet: David Horsey 1pt each-way @ 100/1

Englishman David Horsey is always worth considering when he's between the trees.

He gave early indication of that in his rookie season on the Challenge Tour (2008), when playing well on the traditional tracks of South America and then claiming a win in Belgium at Limburg.

He then finished second at Saujana and Royal Park ahead of landing a first DP World Tour win at Eichenried.

He's since added top 10s at Wentworth, Hilversum, Pretoria, Milano, Carya, Tseleevo, Valderrama, Galgorm Castle and, earlier this year, behind Wu at Muthaiga.

In the 2019 Knockout event he carded 66-69 to sit inside the top 10 before the volatile match play kicked-in so he's got some course form and he is the type who repeats good form on favourite tests.

He's missed three cuts since the top five in Kenya, but his approach game has not been disastrous and returning to a backdrop that suits could trigger his best golf again at a big price.

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