Sergio favourite at European Open
IN: News | European PGA | European Open (2008) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 01 Jul 2008
The European Tour heads back across the English Channel from last week’s French Open in Paris to a new venue for this week’s European Open in Ash, just outside of Sandwich in Kent.
In an area surrounded by high quality golf courses, the Jack Nicklaus designed Heritage course, one of two layouts at the London Club is considered by many to be a good fit for an event which is being played in England for the first time since 1994 when held at the East Sussex National.
With just two weeks until the Open Championship in Lancashire, the tournament offers a chance for many of Europe’s best to tweak their games for the third major of the year.
Several of the European Tour’s star performers are missing however, perhaps needing a break before next week’s event at Loch Lomond followed by the Open Championship or, as in the case of Andres Romero, playing in the US this week.
Recent Players Championship winner and the leading world ranked player in the field, Sergio Garcia, is the likely pre event favourite following several impressive tournaments in the US of late. He won the Players Championship in May then finished 4th in Memphis before a reasonable 18th place at the US Open. As he looks ahead to possible revenge for his near miss at Carnoustie last year, it will be important for him to have his game ticking along nicely this week.
His conqueror at Carnoustie, Padraig Harrington, is in the field and while there has been nothing to get too excited about in recent weeks for the Irishman, he has been playing well enough to figure in the finish this week.
Robert Karlsson’s bubble burst last week in France but he can be forgiven one bad week after what had been a stretch of events where he had played the best golf of his life. He can bounce back this week.
Justin Rose is just behind Garcia in world ranking and although his season has been a rollercoaster of sorts, his recent runner up finish at the Memorial suggests things aren’t too bad.
Soren Hansen is playing particularly well at present and defending champion Colin Montgomerie gave every indication, when runner up last week in Paris, that his game is in good enough shape to defend successfully.
With four runner-up finishes in season 2008 and now eight overall in his European Tour career, Oliver Wilson must surely break through before long. Although yet to win on the European Tour, he is certainly a player good enough to do so and although he missed the cut last week in France, he could still do well.
Richard Green is the most likely of the Australasians to do well. He finished 4th last week at the French Open and was 6th at the BMW PGA Championship and is developing into a proven big event player.
Peter O’Malley is playing his way into form, Scott Strange won the recent Wales Open, while Johnnie Walker Classic winner, Mark Brown, previous winner, Michael Campbell, Matthew Millar, Marcus Fraser, Peter Fowler, Gareth Paddison and another former winner of this event, Peter Senior complete the Australasian challenge.
