Alstom Open de France: golf betting guide

Alstom Open de France: golf betting guide

The European Tour heads to Continental Europe this week for the Alstom Open de France at the revered Le Golf National in Paris.

As always, a strong field has assembled and some of the European Tour's biggest names are due to take part at the 2018 Ryder Cup host venue.

Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Matteo Manassero and Ian Poulter are among the star names in the field this week.

Kaymer is the 12/1 favourite with Ladbrokes, and despite a recent resurgence, I'd be looking elsewhere.

I've got a good feeling about Poulter, at 25/1 with Ladbrokes, this week. The Englishman hasn't played a lot of golf this season, but his performance at the US Open suggested to me his game is in good enough shape to win again soon. He often performs well on tough golf courses and he finished in a tie fourth here last year.

Pablo Larrazabal, at 33/1 with Ladbrokes, is well overdue a win. The Spaniard is one of the more inconsistent players on the European Tour but his form this season has been excellent. Indeed, he's already notched five top-six finishes this season, including an outright fourth at last week's irish Open. He currently ranks 18th on the European Tour in Greens in Regulation and 28th in Putts Per GIR - an encouraging statistic given his recent problems with the flat stick.

Gregory Havret, at 66/1 with Ladbrokes, is worth keeping an eye on this week. The French tend to excel in their national championship and, as such, it'd be remiss not to include one in my selections. Havret has only finished outside the top 25 once in his last six European Tour starts, including a tie for 15th last week, so he seems to be the ideal candidate.

Peter Whiteford, at 80/1 with Ladbrokes, has been impressive this year, and it'll only be a matter of time before he records his first European Tour victory. The Scot lost in a play-off at the Volvo China Open, finished 14th at the Nordea Masters and contended last week at the Irish Open en route to a tie for 10th. Whiteford has a solid-all round game and he'll be confident after earning enough money to secure his card for 2014.

Ricardo Santos, at 100/1 for Ladbrokes, is very well priced this week. The 2012 European Tour Rookie of the Year started the season in excellent form, and his performance at the Irish Open suggests he's over his recent lull. This season, he's 27th in Stroke Average, 31st in Greens in Regulation and 32nd in Putts per GIR - a deadly combination. Alstom Open de France advised bets:

3pts each way on Ian Poulter at 25/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Pablo Larrazabal at 33/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Gregory Havret at 66/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Peter Whiteford at 80/1 with Ladbrokes 1pts each way on Ricardo Santos at 100/1 with Ladbrokes