Quiros looks a solid each-way play at 100/1 to reign in Spain

After two weeks on UK soil the European Tour heads back to mainland Europe for the Open De Espana, while over on the PGA Tour it is the annual stop in Vegas that grabs our attention, the snappily titled Shriners Hospital For Children Open.

So let’s start by taking a look at the Spanish Open.

The first thing we need to be aware of is that the course on the outskirts of Madrid hasn’t been seen on tour since the 2008 Madrid Open.

A par 71 measuring to 7,112 yards, it’s a tree-lined track, which historically was fairly generous off the tee and yielded winning scores around the -20 mark the last three times it was used.

With no Rory McIlroy this week, the betting market is dominated by the Spanish contingent and one player in particular, defending champion Jon Rahm @ 3-1.

We then find Sergio Garcia @ 6/1, with the third of the ‘big Spanish three’ Rafael Cabrera Bello available at 12/1.

At these odds Cabrera Bello with his sparse win record is easily swerved, however readers will not need me to tell them that Rahm and Sergio are by far the the most likely winners of this event.

It is quite possible therefore that sponsors will get the dream scenario of a Rahm/Garcia showdown over the weekend and there will be plenty of punters who may just decide to back them both and wait for the likely outcome of one of them obliging and it is hard to argue with that logic.

With Paddy paying to 7 places each way before the tournament starts, I am going to start by taking a chance on another talented Spaniard, Adri Arnaus @ 28/1 to gate-crash the Rahm, Garcia party.

Arnaus’ last two starts on tour have resulted in two missed cuts, however we have seen that he is something of a rough diamond, prone to a poor effort one week and a top-five finish the next.

Hopefully, a return home will inspire him like it did when second at Valderrama in June, on the back of a missed cut the week before.

I will play two more alongside Arnaus at decent each-way odds, given the strength of the favourites and lack of course form for most of the field.

Korean Jeung-Hun Wang @ 70/1 was fifth last week at the Dunhill Links after a really lean time recently. It may be that Wang has turned a corner and as a three time winner on Tour, I am happy to take a chance at the odds on offer.

Spaniard Alvaro Quiros @ 100/1 meanwhile has had a solid season, posting three top-three finishes including tying with Arnaus for second at Valderrama.

The return to his homeland will hopefully also inspire him to a big week.

Across the pond, we are in far more familiar territory on the 7,255 yard, par 71, TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. where Paddy is paying the first 8 places before tee off.

The key to unlocking this event has often been found in form across the other desert stops on tour, noticeably the Barracuda Championship played in Reno.

So the last two winners of that event are in our team.

The first is Collin Morikawa @ 28/1, the hugely-talented youngster who picked up his maiden tour title a couple of months ago. Now based in Vegas, this is a home game for Morikawa and this week’s test should be perfect for his stellar iron game.

The 2018 winner in Reno, Andrew Putnam @ 50/1, co-led this event at the half-way stage in 2014. He arrives here on the back of some really strong play in recent months and is fancied for another great week in the desert.

*Prices correct at time of publication