Course Overview. The Course at Rinkven is a parkland affair originally designed by Paul Rolin in 1985 and subsequently updated by Martin Hawtree. Some holes are tree-lined whilst others are exposed, however it’s generally a flat, scoreable track.
The layout played is a composite of the North and South courses and measures 6,940 yards for its par of 71 and is the same routing as we saw both last year and also at the Belgian Knockout events hosted here.
The front 9 is slightly longer than the back 9 with a solitary par-5 on both halves, however the short par-4s at the 11th and 16th both played easier than the long 17th last year and presented eagle and birdie opportunities to those who were aggressive on those holes. Just 3 par-3s explains the par of 71, with 13 par-4s overall for the players to tackle.
The greens are Poa Annua-based, but overseeded with Bentgrass each year to achieve the desired playing surface of 80% Bentgrass, 20% Poa.

Tournament Stats. We’ve published some key statistics for this week’s event that will help to shape a view on players who might go well this week.
Course stats include results from the 4 events held here at Rinkven since 2010: Current Form | Course Form | First Round Leader Stats | Combined Stats.
Predictor Model. Our published Predictor Model is available here. As always you can build your own model using the variables available.
Course Winners. Soudal Open: 2022: Sam Horsfield, -13, 22/1; Belgian Knockout: 2019: Guido Migliozzi; 2018: Adrian Otaegui; Telenet Trophy (Challenge Tour): 2010: Lee Slattery, -21.
Weather Forecast. The latest weather forecast for the area is here.
Sunny spells and the odd shower are expected to accompany a fairly light breeze of 5-10mph, with the odd gust maybe a little higher. Temperatures will peak in the mid 60s Fahrenheit.
Tournament Trends & Key Factors. Last year’s Soudal Open gives us a starting point for this week, with the top 3 finishers producing the following core statistics:
- 1st: Sam Horsfield (-13). 46.7% fairways (58th), 70.8% greens in regulation (15th), 81% scrambling (2nd), 1.67 putts per GIR (13th).
- 2nd: Ryan Fox (-11). 45% fairways (61st), 70.9% greens in regulation (12th), 42.9% scrambling (60th), 1.57 putts per GIR (2nd).
- 2nd: Yannik Paul (-11). 58.3% fairways (23rd), 75% greens in regulation (7th), 77.8% scrambling (3rd), 1.72 putts per GIR (26th).
Accuracy off the tee didn’t prove pivotal here 12 months ago, with performance from the second shot and in much more important. With 18-21 a typical number of missed greens on the week for those contending near the top of the leaderboard, the ability to get up and down with regularity – or in the case of Ryan Fox compensate bogeys with birdies – seems critical.
Digging beneath the numbers from the two Belgian Knockout events gives us more history to peruse for this week. Analysing the final stats of the top 2 after the 36-hole strokeplay element gives us a little more insight into this test:
- 2019: Chris Paisley (-12). 66.7 % fairways (16th), 72.2% greens in regulation (42nd), 80.0% scrambling (11th), 1.58 putts per GIR (5th).
- 2018: Jorge Campillo (-8). 73.3% fairways (1st), 80.6% greens in regulation (5th), 28.6% scrambling (87th), 1.66 putts per GIR (12th).
Looking at the same 36-hole data for the eventual winners gives us another angle:
- 2019: Guido Migliozzi. 60.0% fairways (34th), 86.1% greens in regulation (2nd), 100% scrambling (1st), 1.77 putts per GIR (64th).
- 2018: Adrian Otaegui. 60.0% fairways (28th), 69.4% greens in regulation (35th), 54.5% scrambling (25th), 1.76 putts per GIR (50th).
Of course these numbers exclude the Matchplay element so the sample sizes are small, however the requirement to either hit greens or save bogeys when you don’t is at least fairly consistent.
Rinkven GC was also used for the Telenet Trophy on the Challenge Tour in 2010 won by Lee Slattery (final leaderboard is here) with a 21-under total. Although there were 4 par-5s on the course at the time, it was the par-4s that proved pivotal for Slattery 13 years ago as he finished -11 for those holes over the course of the week. Runner-up Edouard Dubois led the field for par-4 scoring at -13 on the week, and although we’re playing a different course routing now, the requirement for par-4 scoring was evident again last year:
- 1st: Sam Horsfield: Par 3, -2; Par 4, -8; Par 5, -3.
- 2nd: Ryan Fox: Par 3, -1; Par 4, -5; Par 5, -5.
- 2nd: Yannik Paul: Par 3, level; Par 4, -8; Par 5, -3.
Strokes Gained: There’s a similar caveat with the SG numbers that were captured in 2019 only, in that they are from the first 36 holes before the Matchplay element began. Some correlation is evident though with 36-hole leader Chris Paisley ranking 2nd for SG Tee to Green behind eventual winner Guido Migliozzi:
2019 – 36 Hole Leader:
- 1st, Chris Paisley: T: 45th; A: 4th; T2G: 2nd; ATG: 17th; P: 5th
2019 – Overall Winner:
- 1st, Guido Migliozzi: T: 1st; A: 35th; T2G: 1st; ATG: 48th; P: 76th
With the full 4 rounds played and recorded for last year’s Soudal Open, the picture becomes a little clearer with more consistency from the top 3 finishers’ SG Approach, Tee to Green and Putting performances:
2022 – Soudal Open:
- 1st, Sam Horsfield: T: 51st; A: 3rd; T2G: 12th; ATG: 32nd; P: 5th
- 2nd, Ryan Fox: T: 55th; A: 1st; T2G: 13th; ATG: 37th; P: 8th
- 2nd, Yannik Paul: T: 33rd; A: 4th; T2G: 4th; ATG: 26th; P: 25th
Key: T: SG Off the Tee; A; SG Approach; T2G: SG Tee to Green; ATG: SG Around the Green; P: SG Putting.
Incoming Form: Looking at the same players who finished ahead after 36 holes over the 2 Belgian knockout events, we see some solid recent form trends:
- 2019, Chris Paisley: 34/24/18/MC/56/24/9/48/57/38/MC/4
- 2018, Jorge Campillo: 35/27/MC/12/14/MC/2/4/27/5/46/3
Similarly, eventual 2018 winner Adrian Otaegui was also in a rich vein of form coming into this event with 5 consecutive top-20 finishes to his name and a runner-up finish in China behind Alexander Bjork on his previous start, whereas 2019 winner Guido Migliozzi had won the Kenya Open earlier in the season and hadn’t missed a cut since.
Last year’s winner Sam Horsfield had returned from a 3-month absence due to injury the week before his victory, finishing 21st at the British Masters. Prior to that, 12th in Abu Dhabi and 4th in Dubai had signalled some good form in stronger fields:
- 2022, Sam Horsfield: MC/15/35/64/MC/12/44/9/12/4/WD/21
- 2019, Guido Migliozzi: MC/MC/56/MC/MC/63/MC/1/41/25/32/35/33
- 2018, Adrian Otaegui: 12/73/60/42/40/22/39/12/10/12/19/2
Last year’s Soudal Open gives us a few clues as to what to expect here this week, with similar conditions expected which may well lead to a similar winning score. A short course with far less reliance on the par 5s levels the playing field for players of all styles, putting more emphasis on performance from the second shot and in.
My selections are as follows: