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Relatively short course with water on half of its holes
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Jordan Smith [22/1] can claim DP World Tour title No 3
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Expect another high finish from Eugenio Chacarra [25/1]
Tournament and Course Notes
The DP World Tour has arrived in northern Europe for the first time in 2025. This week's Soudal Open will once again take place at Rinkven International, which is a venue that combines parkland with woodland, and is located approximately 10 miles north-east of Antwerp city centre.
Rinkven will be making its sixth appearance on Tour, following its debut in 2018. The course is relatively flat, has tight, tree-lined fairways, and is not long by modern Tour standards. Its greens are smaller than the Tour average, as well as undulating.
Water comes into play on nine holes (the majority of these are on the back nine), and there is a sprinkling of interesting dog-legs to keep the mind sharp. Once again, the players will tackle a composite layout taken from the club's North and South courses. Last year's course featured six par-four holes of under 400 yards.
Rinkven first came to prominence in 2010 when the North Course hosted an event on the Challenge Tour which was won by England's Lee Slattery. The club has existed since 1981, with the final nine holes added in 2006.
Six To Watch
Hao Tong Li's 25/126.00 excellent season continued when he tied-for-second on his most recent DP World Tour outing in Turkey.
The 29-year-old from China, and four-time Tour winner, is currently a healthy fifth in the Race to Dubai standings, assisted by his victory in Qatar during February.
Two Spaniards who have looked in good form lately are the experienced Jorge Campillo 40/141.00 and up-and-coming Eugenio Chacarra 25/126.00.
Campillo was second in Turkey earlier this month, while Chacarra has put together a string of good performances following his departure from the LIV Tour.
The 25-year-old claimed a maiden DP World Tour success in March, which is one of five top-10 finishes worldwide since the start of December last year.
And a brace of English golfers should not be overlooked this week, either. Jordan Smith 22/123.00 and Matthew Southgate 80/181.00 have both been in good form lately.
Smith made a slow start to 2025 but has recently posted successive finishes of second and seventh, while Southgate was fifth in Turkey.
Southgate also has a solid Rinkven record, having registered a trio of top-12s from his five starts here.
Finally, former Rinkven winner Nacho Elvira 80/181.00 might be worth a punt, especially the top-five market. The 38-year-old from Madrid is the defending champion and he's another pro teeing-up on Thursday who posted a top-10 in Turkey two weeks ago.
Stroke Averages
Lowest Eight At Rinkven (2018-24)
Average .... (Rounds)
68.25: Aaron Cockerill (8)
68.25: Matthew Jordan (8)
68.50: Jeong Weon Ko (8)
68.63: Todd Clements (8)
68.75: Nacho Elvira (12)
68.75: Angel Hidalgo Portillo (12)
68.75: Richard Mansell (8)
68.83: Thomas Pieters (12)
Min. No. of Rounds = 8
Only those entered this week are included in table
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves