Soudal Open
The DP World Tour hits mainland Europe for the first time in 2024 with a trip to Belgium for the Soudal Open.
Jordan Smith, off making the cut and finishing 39th at the PGA Championship, shares a 20-1 favorite price with Adrian Otaegui, who missed the cut at the PGA but won the last DP World Tour event three weeks ago at the Volvo China Open.
Belgium’s own Thomas Pieters (22-1) comes home to play this week’s event as LIV Golf is off for the rest of May.
Yannik Paul (22-1) finished runner-up here two years ago.
Bernd Wiesberger (30-1), Alex Fitzpatrick (35-1), Thriston Lawrence (35-1) and Richard Mansell (35-1), who on Monday earned one of the nine qualifying spots at Walton Heath for the U.S. Open, follow next in the market.
The Event​
The Soudal Open began as the Belgian Open all the way back in 1910. The Belgian Open event was played intermittently from 1910 to 2000. The event disappeared from the DP World Tour schedule for 17 years before being brought back in 2018 under a different format called the Belgian Knockout. That format was a two-day stroke-play event where 64 players made the cut and then proceeded to play nine-hole matches over six rounds to determine a champion. This change lasted two years (2018 and 2019) before the event disappeared from the schedule again for two years.
Now the tournament is back in a traditional stroke-play format as the Soudal Open. Soudal is a Belgian company headquartered in Turnhout that makes silicone, caulks, polyurethane foams and adhesives.
​The Course​
Rinkven International Golf Club, located in Antwerp, is the host course just as it was for the Belgian Knockout in 2018 and 2019. The Course at Rinkven is a parklands layout originally designed by Paul Rolin in 1985 and subsequently updated by Martin Hawtree. Some holes are tree-lined while others are exposed. Nevertheless, it is generally a flat, scoreable track.
The layout played for the Belgian Knockout was a composite of the North and South courses and measured 6,940 yards played as a par-71 (two par-5s, three par-3s and 13 par-4s).
The front nine is slightly longer than the back nine with just one par-5 on both sides. The par-4 16th is a drivable hole with eagle opportunities.
The greens are Poa Annua-based but overseeded with Bentgrass each year to achieve a split of 80% Bentgrass, 20% Poa.
Recent History/Winners
2023: Simon Forsström (-17/267); 200-1
2022: Sam Horsfield (-13/271); 22-1
Selections
Thomas Pieters (22-1, Bet365)
Pieters returns to his home open, were in years past, he would be the favorite on the odds board.
The Belgian only had one top-10 finish on LIV Golf in 2023 but has two top-10s in his last three starts there, including a fifth last time out in Singapore.
This field is certainly a drop in class at the top and he will have the support of the home crowd to override any animosity from his former DP World Tour colleagues.
Johannes Veerman (55-1, BetMGM)
Veerman finished eighth at the Volvo China Open in his last start and was T-2 at the Hero Indian Open five weeks prior.
He was first and 14th for Strokes Gained: Approach combined with seventh and fifth for Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green over those two most recent outings plus being third and sixth for Scrambling.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart (60-1, Caesars Sportsbook)
Another Belgian playing his home open, Dumont de Chassart has been playing exclusively on the PGA Tour in 2024 and has made cuts in four of his last five events.
This field is a massive downgrade from those he has been competing against stateside, and he could relish a return home to jump-start his 2024 season.
Joel Girrbach (60-1, BetMGM)
Girrbach has made five consecutive cuts on the DP World Tour and finished T-3 at the Volvo China Open three weeks ago.
The man from Switzerland ranks third for Driving Accuracy and 11th for Strokes Gained: Approach on the DP World Tour this season.
Matteo Manassero (66-1, Bet Rivers)
After winning twice on the Challenge Tour in 2023, Italian Matteo Manassero captured his first DP World Tour title in over 10 years at the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa in past March.
Moreover, he earned one of the qualifying spots for the U.S. Open at Walton Heath on Monday.
Matthias Schwab (80-1, BetMGM)
Schwab finished eighth at the Volvo China Open three weeks ago, where he rated third for Driving Accuracy, third for GIR and first for Scrambling along with ranking fifth for Strokes Gained: Approach and 10th for Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green.
While it is difficult to put too much weight into course form because of a different format, he did make the weekend both times in the Belgian Knockout.
Placement markets, matchups, and other plays will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks
