Golf Betting Update; Open De France with the bookmakers making Westwood their 11/1 favourite

Added: (Wed Jun 25 2008)

Pressbox (Press Release) - For the past two years English golfers have been the toast of Paris with John Bickerton and Graeme Storm both taking the Open de France title back across the Channel and the bookie boys obviously think the hat-trick is on as they make Lee Westwood clear favourite for this week’s renewal.

However, the home side are fielding a strong defence with Thomas Levet, Francois Delamontagne and Raphael Jacquelin leading the way.

The first two shared sixth place in the BMW International last week, which was the third consecutive top eight finish for Delamontagne and he has excellent greens in regulations (GIR) figures, which can prove vital at the Le Golf National course. He also knows he can play well there having secured a tie for fourth place in 2005.

Levet does not have a great record in his national championship but that performance in Munich marked a return to form for the Frenchman and his best result since landing the Andalucian Open earlier in the year.

Looking Westwood

Westwood and Robert Karlsson are two classy players and in peak form so it’s no wonder they occupy the head of the market. The Englishman only missed the play-off for the US Open by a shot and showed a tough mental attitude in battling with Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate down the back nine at Torrey Pines. That third place finish was the third time he occupied that position in his last six starts and if he reproduced that level of form in Paris he will be very difficult to beat.

It’s a similar story for Karlsson who has not finished lower than fourth (US Open) in his last five starts and he features highly on the GIR, putting, scrambling and sand saves stats for the tour. However, his driving has let him down. The history of the French Open suggests that Angel Cabrera should be in with a shout as 18 major champions have walked off with the first prize and the former US Open champion did tie for 12th two years when finishing strongly with a 66. The negative is that he has looked woefully out of form in recent starts.

Storm warning

Two top-20s in his last two outings suggests that defending champion Graeme Storm could make his presence tell but it’s his sixth in the very competitive WGC-CA Championship back in March that catches the eye. He was slightly disappointing in the BMW International last week as he was handily placed in fourth at the halfway stage and was still in with a shout when 11th with a day to go. Unfortunately, his game fell apart on Sunday and a round of 73 saw him drop out of contention.

If the English are to continue there recent domination then it might be worth taking a chance on Mark Foster and Simon Khan and a sporting wager on Danny Willett. All three are trading at decent prices.

A last-time-out third in Munich was a very good performance from Foster and easily his best this year and he does have some course form to his name having finished 15th and 21st in the last two seasons.

Khan is normally a very accurate and consistent player and it’s surprising that he hasn’t won more times than his sole victory in Wales four years ago. Usually he hits form at about this time of the season and a recent 10th in the very competitive PGA Championship at Wentworth was an encouraging sign. That together with his third at Le Golf National in 2007, 11th for driving accuracy in Germany and 15th for GIR over the past three months, makes him worthy of consideration.

Willett worth wager

The Open de France has had its share of shock results in the past, John Bickerton 175-1 in 2006, Jean-Francois Remesy 66-1 in both 2004 and 2005 and Phillip Golding 125-1 in 2003. So taking a chance on 200-1 shot Willett may not be such a big risk after all. The young Yorkshireman, who attended Jacksonville State University, is the top-ranked amateur in the world and showed what a talent he is when producing a stunning round of eight-under par on the third day of the Spanish Open at the beginning of last month. He went on to finish ninth there while on his European tour debut in Andalucia he opened with a 66 to lie in second spot before posting a top-20 finish.

Willett may not quite be ready to make the breakthrough but don’t forget Pablo Martin was still an amateur when he landed last year’s Portugese Open, so he might be worth a sporting bet.

O’Malley might

There are plenty of possible in what looks a wide-open event with even Colin Montgomerie being in with a shout if back to his best, while another veteran to look out for is Peter O’Malley who celebrated his 43rd birthday on Monday. His record in the tournament shows six top-10s and in the last few weeks he appears to be finding his form with a 24th in the BMW International on Sunday being a decent effort. He’s also showing up well in the driving accuracy and GIR stats. So a big week could be on the cards for the Australian.

Recommended Bets - Paris Punts: Francois Delamontagne and Thomas Levet.

Recommended Bets - French Fancies: Simon Khan and Danny Willett.

• All prices correct at time of writing.

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