Omega European Masters First-Round Leader Tips: Dave Tindall's three to back up to 110/1

Omega European Masters weather forecast for Thursday

It's a very calm day up in the Swiss mountains although the early starters will need a layer or two on as temperatures begin in the early 50s. They gradually warm up to around 70 in the afternoon.

As we're at altitude and the course is extremely short, there's no need to be concerned that the ball won't fly far in the cool early conditions.

First Round Leader Bet 1: Thriston Lawrence @ 60/161.00

In a tournament where course form counts more than usual, I'm going to side with a trio of former winners to get off to a flying start.

First up is defending champion Thriston Lawrence who helped cement that course horse trend further when winning this event for the second time last year.

An opening 63 put him second after the first round while in his first win in 2022 the South African set the pace with a 62 on day one.

Lawrence, who shot two rounds of 63 last year, has been out of form but may have found something in recent weeks after posting 13th in a South African Tour event and 30th at last week's British Masters where he closed with a 67.

Back on one of his favourite tracks, he can hit the ground running again.

Lawrence is an afternoon starter at 13:35 from the 1st tee.

First Round Leader Bet 2: Sergio Garcia @ 50/151.00

Sergio Garcia's victory here came way back in 2005 when he played the tournament regularly.

His course form may be old (only appearance in the last decade was in 2019) but his finishes of 19-3-1-4-6-23 show he relished this layout. Indeed he even bought a property next to it.

Sergio returns after making very positive noises about a new broomstick putter which has helped him finish 11th and 3rd in the last two LIV events. He ranked 18th and 3rd respectively for Putting Average in those tournaments in New York and Indianapolis.

A fourth place at Valderrama in LIV Golf Andalucia supports the idea that he's still a threat on tight tree-lined courses and having started out with a 64 in Indianapolis last time the signs are good that he can low on day one here.

Garcia is an 08:00 starter from the 10th.

First Round Leader Bet 3: Danny Willett @ 110/1111.00

Danny Willett scored his victory at Crans in 2015 after he'd posted fifth the previous year and second in 2012.

The 2016 Masters champ, who handed the Green Jacket to Garcia 12 months later, was also ninth in 2022 and shot four solid rounds last year.

Yes, he's a fleeting presence on leaderboards these days but Willett finished seventh at the KLM Open in June and 21st in an elite field at July's Scottish Open.

As for FRL form, he was 16th after day one in last week's British Masters and, on his previous start in Europe, 13th following the opening lap of the Scottish. Back in June he set out with a 66 at the Canadian Open.

Past course form is his main appeal but the three-figure price and those snippets of good Thursday scoring make the 07:40 starter (10th) worth a play.

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