Tenerife Open Tips

The question this week with Max Kieffer is whether he has already peaked, or is in the process of peaking still. Back-to-back runner-up finishes on his form sheet are there for everyone to see, so the most inspirational of bets this is not; however I’m of the mind that he’s not quite done with this rich vein of form just yet, and it would surprise nobody who’s observed the past fortnight of European Tour golf if the German were to convert at the third time of asking.

Golf is a game of continual learning both from a player’s and a punter’s perspective, and it’s clear that the 30 year-old adopted a more aggressive mindset last week in Gran Canaria after coming so close the week before in Austria with a more typical grinding performance. 28 birdies and an eagle last week co-led the field for par-breakers and more of the same is going to be required in Tenerife this week on a course that’s likely to play very much in the same fashion as Meloneras Golf.

The key difference this week is in the setup with potentially 5 rather than 3 par-5s in play, and only last week’s victor Garrick Higgo boasts a superior aggregate performance on the long holes over the past fortnight than Kieffer. Whereas Higgo shot an ugly second round 79 to miss the cut in Ireland immediately after his previous European Tour win and could be excused for another weekend off here following last week’s effort, Max should be hungrily seeking to capitalise on his fine form and grab that elusive maiden European Tour title this week.

Physical fitness shouldn’t be a consideration for the Dusseldorf man and he should be full of beans after recording his lowest round on Tour to close out his Lopesan Open effort. 2^nd for SG Tee to Green last week was impressive and 2^nd for putting average suggests that there are currently no weak parts to his game, and with 4 further top-10 finishes in Spain over the years to add to last week’s effort, he’s clearly at ease in this part of the world. RESULT: MC

Backing up my headline selection is Calum Hill who’s another player who looks very much like a winner in waiting on the European Tour.

JB Hansen was tempting given the trend that’s continuing to grow of multiple post-lockdown winners, with Garrick Higgo the latest player to add his name to that list. If I could trust him to finish 4 rounds then Victor Dubuisson could also have been an option seeing as he’s showing sparks of form once again and scoring very nicely on the Par-5s, currently ranking 3^rd on Tour on that count.

A little further down that par-5 ranking and averaging a shade over 4.5 strokes for the season on the long holes we find our man Calum; the Scotsman also ranks 2^nd for Par-3 scoring for the season-to-date and between those two metrics we could have a potent combination for this week’s task.

Aside from those raw metrics, we also have a player who’s undoubtedly knocking on the door of his maiden victory at the upper level. 3 Challenge Tour successes at between 18- and 22-under bode well for this week’s task, however it’s finishes this season of 4^th in the star-studded Saudi International and back-to-back top-8 finishes in Kenya that suggest he’s quite capable of converting at this level sooner rather than later.

29^th last week in Gran Canaria loosened the limbs after 4 weeks away from competitive golf and every element of his game was Strokes Gained positive at Meloneras Golf. Encouraging signs as he looks to push his career to the next level and the World’s top-100 is beckoning should he win this week, with the US PGA Championship just 3 weeks away. RESULT: MC

24 attempts at par-3s over the course of 4 days is going to require some confidence on the shorter holes and nobody scored better than Nino Bertasio on that count last week in Gran Canaria. Despite finishing 38^th overall, the Italian was 7-under for the par-3s at Meloneras Golf and if he can keep that kind of scoring going again this week then he’ll have a good platform for a much improved finish.

The long-hitting 32 year-old can make mincemeat of the par-5s here this week to compliment his par-3 prowess, and that bodes well on this quirky scorecard as he seeks that elusive maiden victory on the European Tour.

Despite his 3-figure quote here this week, there’s been a lot to like about the 2-time Alps Tour winner in 2021. 19^th at the Qatar Masters saw Nino open up with a round of 65 which was beaten by just 1 other player, and he followed that up with finishes of 12^th and 10^th in quick succession in Kenya, closing that second event with a round of 63. Another 63 on Friday last week suggests that there’s little wrong with his scoring right now and it won’t take a massive improvement with the putter to see him far closer to the top of the leaderboard than last week’s result. His best flat stick performance of the season came on the Bermudagrass greens of Abu Dhabi at Rolex Series level and this week is a good few grades lower than that 35^th place finish. RESULT: T22

Scouring the scorecards from post-lockdown European Tour events for clues as to who might go well this week leads us to Pep Angles who finished runner-up to Garrick Higgo at the Open de Portugal on another quirky setup with 5 par-5s and 5 par-3s.

Despite opening with a level-par round of 72 that week, the Spaniard went on to shoot 3 straight rounds of 66 to push last week’s victor all the way at Royal Obidos, another coastal track like this week, finishing 3 shots ahead of the nearest challengers into the bargain.

That personal best on the European Tour clearly gave him a shot in the arm in terms of confidence and he duly converted his maiden Challenge Tour title 3 starts later on home soil, winning the Andalucia Challenge du Cadiz after another slow start.

8^th at the Kenya Open is the 28 year-old’s best result of 2021, however last week’s 29^th could have been so much better had it not been – yes you’ve guessed it – for a slow start, opening with a 1-over par 71 before shooting 64/65/67 to finish in a much more respectable position.

Powerful driving and strong iron play are Pep’s core strengths and with reachable par-5s and a plethora of par-3s, that looks like a decent combination to me as he looks to break through at European Tour level. RESULT: T33

Finally I’m going to keep faith in Alejandro Canizares who may have needed last week as something of a breather and recovery week following his contending performance in the icy conditions of Austria.

A level par 70 to start last week immediately put the 38 year-old on the back foot in Gran Canaria, however to his credit he managed to produce rounds of 65, 67 & 66 to finish mid-division and set himself up for another big effort this week. 11-under for the par-5s despite that flat Thursday was encouraging and whilst he couldn’t find the long-game performance we saw in Austria, the putter was still in good shape and he could easily get back into the groove here now that he’s fully thawed out.

The shift to Bermuda greens won’t bother the Spaniard at all, given that we’ve seen him rank inside the top-10 for putting on half a dozen occasions over the years in the Middle East and this short track should once again play to his strengths.

A quicker start than last week is required of course, however that’s quite possible from a player who’s been first round leader on 2 of his last 3 outings. RESULT: T28