European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – Open de España

2018 Open de España Fantasy Preview

After a lengthy hiatus, the European Tour is back! And for the first time in 2018, the action will actually take place on the continent at the Open de Espana, before sojourning overseas once more to take in Morocco and China.

This event is returning to the schedule after a disappearance of its own in 2017; the first time it hadn’t been played since 1972. The rotational hosting schedule means that the defending champion this week, Andrew Johnston, won his title at a different venue (Valderrama) and as long ago as 2016.

Our host course is Centro Nacional de Golf, located not far from Madrid and the home of the Spanish Golf Federation. The last time the venue hosted a professional event was way back in 2009 at the Madrid Masters, so to some extent we really don’t know what to expect.

Jon Rahm of Spain reacts after an eagle on the 16th hole during the…

Jon Rahm of Spain reacts after an eagle on the 16th hole during the first round of the World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club South Course on August 3, 2017 in… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

But the course images back up the belief that we will be witnessing an undulating parkland stretch this week, and one that visually at least has a Links style look to it; even if Madrid is slap bang in the middle of Spain.

Playing at an altitude of roughly 2100 feet above sea level, the greens at Centro Nacional de Golf are well protected by bunkers but that is the only real line of defense: the last two winning scores here of -25 and -16 suggest that this is a fairly straightforward layout to navigate – even if the temperatures are on the chilly side in the Spanish capital this week.

And that ability to shoot low numbers suggests that Jon Rahm, as low as 4/1 with the sportsbooks, is an absolute ringer on home soil!

So who will we be drafting for the Open de Espana this week?

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This Week’s Open de España Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s Open de España Fantasy Picks

Jon Rahm – $12,200 – This is one of those awkward game weeks where you will have those creeping seeds of doubt in your mind if you don’t draft Jon Rahm.

His claims are so obvious this week it is hard to know where to start! In a weak field event, we have the OWGR number four in our midst, and it would be fair to conclude that Rahm is by far and away the best player in this field.

He has played in five European Tour events….and won two of them, and last week had genuine chances at The Masters until a few watery lapses of concentration cost his dearly.

And as if to confirm his superiority, this is also Rahm’s ‘home’ course – he studied in Madrid – and he is known to have played many rounds here.

Paying out the $12,200 stings….but if you don’t draft Rahm this week you are liable to miss out on rather a lot of points!

Andrew Johnston – $9,300 – ‘Beef’ is, technically at least, the defending champion this week, although the fact his win came two years ago and at a different course means he won’t be feeling the pressure as much as would be traditionally the case.

The last time we saw Johnston he was embroiled in a playoff with Matt Wallace at the Indian Open, and prior to that he was T12 at the Oman Open, so everything is trending nicely in the right direction for the genial Englishman.

The European Tour’s shiny new Strokes Gained statistics reveal Johnston to be ninth on Tour for Approaches, and given he is in form – in a country he has won in before – he is a straightforward enough pick this week.

Mike Lorenzo-Vera – $7,600 – With conditions expected to be softened somewhat by the rain that is around in the first part of the week, the birdie-makers will surely thrive.

Lorenzo-Vera sits 22nd on Tour for Birdie Average, and he is one of the few players in the field of having played Centro Nacional de Golf competitively in the past, finishing T10 in the Madrid Masters back in 2009.

Within his last three starts, the Frenchman has finished T10 at the Qatar Masters and T17 at the Maybank Championship, and so he is clearly comfortable with his game, and our look at the course suggests that his occasionally errant driving won’t be punished too severely by the minimal rough lining the fairways.

Fabrizio Zanotti – $7,300 – Hailing from Paraguay, the concern might be that Fabrizio Zanotti wouldn’t fancy the cold weather in Madrid this week, but then this is a guy who finished T3 in the ice-cold European Masters last year, where the high altitude means the air is rather thin and fresh.

So he at least has previous of playing well above sea level, and his form of late has impressed. Three top-10s since the Race to Dubai closers last season, including T8 at the Turkish Airlines Open and T9 at the Abu Dhabi Championship, shows he has performed well in fields considerably stronger than this.

The Paraguayan, T10 here in 2009, is a two-time European Tour winner with his most recent success coming as recently as 2017 at the Maybank Championship.

James Morrison – $7,000 – A former winner and runner-up in this event at separate courses, there is something about golf in Spain that appeals to James Morrison.

He has a habit of playing well at altitude too, having bagged back-to-back top-10s at the Joburg Open and a top-20 in the European Masters, played at the mountainous Crans Montana club.

The Englishman’s form hasn’t been great of late, but a T16 return in his last start at the Indian Open is encouraging, and having enjoyed a few weeks off hopefully he has been able to build on that renewed confidence out on the range.

If he plays well from tee-to-green, Morrison’s excellent putting stroke will always give him chances on the dancefloor.

Darren Fichardt – $6,800 – Our final play this week is a man who won at altitude – and in stinking, rainy conditions no less – back in 2017.

That came in the 2017 Joburg Open, and Fichardt confirmed his love of altitude golf when finishing T6 in the European Masters last season.

And what a buzz it would have been for the 42-year-old when he won his native South Africa’s Tour Championship on the Sunshine Tour in March.

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