The Cazoo Classic: Olsen Has a Strong Form on Links Tracks

• The DP World Tour heads over the border from Scotland to England
• Hillside Golf Club, a links track next to Royal Birkdale, plays host
• Robert MacIntyre is the betting favorite

Cazoo Classic Odds

The odds for this tournament are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to Caesars Sportsbook and place a bet.

Cazoo Classic Predictions and Picks

Thorbjorn Olesen has a recent win and a bunch of strong form on links tracks. Back the Danish star for the win at +2000 with Caesars Sportsbook.

Richard Mansell has been in good form and made the cut at St Andrews. He can beat Antoine Rozner in their 72-hole match bet at -120 with bet365.

Matthew Baldwin is a Southport local and has some good recent form. Back the Englishman for a Top 20 at +450 with bet365.

After the thrills, drama and prestige of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews in Scotland, it’s back to regular fayre on the DP World Tour this week.

Betting favorite Robert MacIntyre is one of those crossing the border and heading to England’s north-west coast.

The good news for fans of links golf is that we’re on one for the third week running. So after The Renaissance Club (Scottish Open) and St Andrews (The Open), we head to Hillside Golf Club.

The course is sat just a couple of minutes from Open venue Royal Birkdale while it’s about an hour’s drive down the coast to Hoylake, the scene of next year’s Open.

I’ve played Hillside and it’s a wonderful track: lots of elevated tees and fairways framed by dunes.

Indeed, head to the clubhouse and you’ll find a letter there from double Open champion Greg Norman – whatever happened to him! 🙂 -saying Hillside’s back nine is the best in Britain.

Jack Nicklaus has also heaped praise on the course’s inward stretch.

It’s short at 6,953 yards with a par of 72 and, crucially for bettors, there is some course form too. Hillside staged the British Masters in 2019, a tournament won by Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult with 16-under.

The next four home were two Scots (MacIntyre and Richie Ramsay) and two Englishmen (Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace), players all familiar with links golf.

That English/Scandinavian connection shows and shapes my thinking in this week’s tips.

Looking at the stats from 2019, accuracy seemed far more important than distance while the top five were all ranked in the top 25 for Greens In Regulation and top 20 for Putting Average.

Olesen for the Win

I’m looking for a links specialist this week – and one with some signs of recent form.

Step forward Thorbjorn Olesen.

The Dane won the British Masters in May and two starts ago closed with a 66 to take tied eighth in the Irish Open.

He started slowly in the following week’s Scottish Open but closed with a 67 for tied 30th.

Looking at his past links credentials, the former Ryder Cup star has a ninth and a 12th in the Open Championship while he owns a win and a second in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Results in the Qatar Masters at Doha GC, another windy track, often correlate well with links courses and Olesen has a second and a third there.

In short, put him on the links and the six-time DP World Tour winner is a man to watch.

Back him at +2000 with Caesars Sportsbook.

Mansell Can Outscore Rozner

England’s Richard Mansell managed to play all four rounds at St Andrew’s last week and a 68 in round three of the Open Championship will have put a spring in his step.

Mansell, who came through qualifying for both the Open and the US Open, has been in fine form over the last three months, also banking three top 10s on the DP World Tour.

That good play includes tied 12th and tied eighth in his last two starts on home English soil.

He’s pitted against Antoine Rozner in a match bet and it’s Mansell I like the look of.

Rozner has missed his last two cuts in tournaments played on British links courses – the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Scottish Open.

The Frenchman has also struggled on his last four starts in England, missing two cuts and finishing outside the top 50 in the other two.

Mansell looks to have the better credentials so back him at -120 with bet365 to win their 72-hole match.

Back Baldwin for a Top 20

I’m going to play the local angle here and back Matthew Baldwin for a top 20.

Baldwin was born in Southport and has been a regular visitor to this week’s course, Hillside.

He made the cut there in 2019 without threatening the leaders but he’s been playing some good golf on the second-tier Challenge Tour in recent weeks.

The Englishman was 10th in the Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France on his latest start two weeks ago and 13th at the Kaskada Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic last month.

If Baldwin can cash in on his extra local knowledge, he can crack the top 20. It’s priced at an appealing +450 with bet365.

Cazoo Classic Information