The DP World Tour heads to Crans-sur-Sierre this week for the Omega European Masters, and this is another event I really like from a betting perspective. We’re up in Crans-Montana, playing at altitude, and that brings a completely different test to what we saw at the British Masters last week.
The course is a really interesting one, with small, firm greens and plenty of scoring opportunities, so getting the right players who can control their distances and take advantage of the par 5s is going to be key.
I’ve gone with a six-man squad this week, with one standout selection that I’m taking win only, before five bigger priced players who all have plenty of credentials to play well around here.
I think there is some really good value further down the market, and the course setup gives us plenty of different angles to look at when trying to find the winner. Hopefully we can get into the winners enclosure this week, and find some more value in what is a really interesting field.
I hope you enjoy the preview, and don’t forget to sign up to The Sports Geek completely free for more golf previews and analysis. Best of luck and gamble responsibly! Here’s my squad for the Omega European Masters.
1. Nicolai Hojgaard (+2000)
For my number one this week, I’m going to side with Nicolai Højgaard at 20/1, and he is one of only three players in the field this week who sit inside the top 50 in the world rankings. That alone makes him a very appealing selection, especially being a strong fancy of mine this week. Still, at 20/1, we are obviously paying the price for the class he possesses.
Nicolai now predominantly plays on the PGA Tour, and he started this season really well. He finished tied-third in the Phoenix Open, tied-sixth in the Cognizant Classic the following week, then finished runner-up in the Houston Open a couple of weeks later.
He also finished tied-second in the Truist Championship in May. So from February through to May, he was in excellent form, although we haven’t really seen him at his best since.
I think there are a few reasons for that though. He’s been highly tried this season, having qualified for all four majors, and I think that perhaps started to take its toll on his game in a busy period of the season.
However, it does set him up nicely for a big effort next season, because the experience gained from the big events will be huge for him. He was also classy enough to reach the FedEx St Jude, then the BMW Championship, before just missing out on the final 30-man field for the Tour Championship. So he has been playing in much stronger events than this.
At this course, you don’t need to be overly long, you just need to be a really consistent approach player, and Nico’s three-quarter backswing gives him plenty of control with his approach play. This is a big drop in grade for Nicolai, and I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t heavily involved at the sharp end this week.
His putting is also significantly better on fast greens, and they are expected to be lightning quick this week. He is short enough in the market, but he holds all the credentials to win, and that’s ultimately what we’re looking for
2. Davis Bryant (+7000)
The best course fit for the attributes I’m looking for this week is Davis Bryant, and he comes into this event in really good form, with plenty of stats to back up his position.
Six of the last seven winners of this event had come into the tournament off the back of a top-10 finish, and last week at the British Masters, Davis Bryant finished tied for ninth after a really solid performance over four rounds on the Brabazon course.
To go with that, if we go back to the Austrian Open earlier this year, Davis finished second there too, at altitude, and his iron play is the big factor for me here. If you want to go one step further, he was also second in Kenya, where they have higher than average altitude, so he clearly knows how to control his irons around these types of courses.
The greens are quite small, but they are also quite firm, and his high ball flight should really help him keep the ball on the greens this week if he strikes it well. I think there is a 62 or 63 out there, and when you look at Davis Bryant’s overall form this season, there are loads of good scoring numbers on courses with small greens, so he is certainly one I want to keep on side.
The negative is that he missed the cut here last season, but he was a rookie with half status at the time, so I think that can easily be overlooked.
He was a much bigger price when I initially picked him out, and even though he has shortened up, I don’t want that to affect the fact that he has made the squad. We’ll take a 60/1 winner all day long, and hopefully we can get a good performance from the American, who has knocked on the door a few times already this season.
3. Kota Kaneko (+10000)
Kota Kaneko is straight back into the squad this week after missing the cut at last week’s British Masters, but the main reason he makes the team again is quite simply the price. I think the market has completely overreacted to his recent results, and at the odds available, I’m more than happy to give him another chance.
Playing at altitude isn’t for everyone, but you can see why Kota Kaneko thrived in Austria earlier this year when he picked up his first DP World Tour title. That is a really important piece of form for me coming into this week, because we know he has already proven that he can handle this type of environment and, more importantly, can actually win in it. So with himself and Davis Bryant, we have the one two from the event.
Yes, he has now missed his last four cuts on the DP World Tour, but I think you have to put those results into context. Before that run, he had three excellent events where he finished second in the Soudal Open, won the Austrian Open and then finished tied 11th in Italy. Across those 12 rounds, every single round was in the 60s, including four rounds of 65. That is not the profile of a golfe,r who suddenly can’t play golf.
The last few weeks haven’t gone his way, but golf can change incredibly quickly. I’m much more interested in the level he showed before those results than simply looking at four missed cuts on a form line. I also think the market is making a mistake by treating those results as though they are all equal, when the Scottish Open and The Open were very different tests to what he faces here.
This is a course where I think his game can really come back to the forefront. He is fantastic off the tee, superb from the fairway, and for me, he is one of, if not the best putter on the DP World Tour. We already know that Kaneko has the ability to shoot seriously low scores. We also know he has the winning mentality because he has already got that first DP World Tour title under his belt this season.
Ultimately, I’m not backing Kaneko because I think his recent form is brilliant, I’m backing him because I think his recent form has created a price that is simply too big to ignore.
We have already seen the level he can produce this season, we know he has won at altitude, and I think this is a really good opportunity for him to bounce back. At the price, I’m more than happy to take that chance. He is far too big in the market for me to leave out of the squad this week.
4. Manuel Elvira (+12500)
It could be time for Manuel Elvira to finally break his DP World Tour maiden tag, and I think he looks a good bit of value at this course.
Again, before we even look at the attributes he brings, it goes back to that Austrian Open form, where he finished tied seventh in Crans. It’s a course I really like for his game, and I’ll tell you why.
When you look at Manuel Elvira’s form over the years, he tends to perform best at courses where distance control is vital, and as a general all-round player, I think altitude courses can really suit him.
The reason for that is that all-rounders tend to build their games around hitting a high percentage of greens in regulation, but with Elvira, he also has really good distance control, which I think is a huge asset around here. With the ball travelling further at altitude and the greens being relatively small and firm, being able to control your numbers into the greens is absolutely vital.
He isn’t the most consistent iron player, and these small greens mean he will have to be accurate this week. However, if he is striking them well, I can see him scoring really well here. He isn’t an obvious contender by any means, but distance control is such a big factor around Crans, and watching Elvira this season, I think he is definitely one of the better players in the field in that department.
That immediately makes him more interesting to me here than he would be at most other events this season. We’ll take our chance at 125/1.
5. Matteo Manassero (+12500)
Matteo Manassero is another player I really like the look of this week, and I think the course setup plays a big part in that.
Crans isn’t an overly aggressive golf course, and you don’t need to be one of the longest players in the field to compete here. For me, that brings Manassero right into the equation. He is an accurate, intelligent golfer who doesn’t need to overpower a course to score well, and I think that is a big positive around here.
His iron play is obviously a big part of his game, and with the greens being relatively small and firm, you need to be able to control your distances and give yourself plenty of chances from the fairway.
Manassero is more than capable of doing that and also has a very good short game. He can get extremely hot with the putter, which is another big positive around a course where you need to take advantage of the scoring opportunities when they come.
There is also some good course history here. He finished third in this event as a 17-year-old all the way back in 2010, which was a huge week for him. Although I wouldn’t necessarily call him a course specialist based on that alone, it does show that he has always been comfortable around Crans.
I just think the setup suits his style of golf. Manassero doesn’t need to hit driver everywhere, he doesn’t need to overpower the course, and if his iron play is where it needs to be, he has more than enough ability to get himself into contention.
Add in the putting ability, the experience and the fact he has already proven he can win on the DP World Tour, and he is a really interesting player at the price. I’m happy to take him on this course, and hopefully he can put himself in the mix come Sunday.
6. Maximilian Steinlechner (+17500)
Maximilian Steinlechner is a player you may not have heard too much about just yet, but he is looking very dangerous in patches on the DP World Tour this season.
I’ve been really impressed with his game so far, and his resume before joining the DP World Tour is impressive too. He only turned professional in 2023, and by 2024 he had already won his first event on the Alps Tour, looking like a player with a ton of potential. That proved to be the case because the following season, in 2025, he won the Interwetten Open on the HotelPlanner Tour as well, in a high class field.
That gave him his opportunity on the DP World Tour this season. Steinlechner has taken full advantage of it so far, playing really well in a handful of big events.
The first time I really noticed him was at the Austrian Open, in his homeland, where he finished a very impressive tied seventh. I actually wondered at the time whether that would be it for his season, a big effort in his home Open, and that’s it, but that hasn’t been the case.
He followed that up with a tied-third in the KLM Open and also finished inside the top 25 at the Italian Open, so there is clearly plenty of ability there. Last week at the British Masters he made the cut, but I don’t think the course suited him particularly well.
This is a completely different test, though, and playing at altitude is something he is very used to. I think he should really relish this test.
Steinlechner is a really good ball striker with plenty of upside, hits plenty of greens in regulation, and that experience of playing at altitude is a big positive for me this week. He’s another player I’m very interested in at the price.
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