Matt Cooper steps in for Ben Coley this week, and he has five selections in his preview of the Austrian Alpine Open.
Golf betting tips: Austrian Alpine Open
1pt e.w. Jorge Campillo at 40/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
1pt e.w. Daniel Hillier at 66/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
1pt e.w. Angel Ayora at 66/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
1pt e.w. Calum Hill at 100/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
0.5pt e.w. Conor Purcell at 200/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
In the unlikely event that the DP World Tour’s newest tournament – this week’s Austrian Alpine Open – is in need of a locally-inspired theme tune, it has plenty of options courtesy of its host city.
Yes, Salzburg was the birthplace of Mozart so maybe The Magic Flute’s rousing overture? Then again, the hills around the city were also locations for the film version of The Sound of Music and one of its most famous numbers, Edelweiss, was covered by Tony Jacklin on his 1971 LP ‘Swings Into’ (there’s a golf/Austria/musicals Venn diagram sweet spot you never ever expected to read about).
Personally, however, I’d plump for the stirring, drum-rolling introduction to the classic World War Two movie Where Eagles Dare which focussed on a daring break-into (and break-out-from) Salzburg’s Hohenwerfen Castle (albeit known as Schloss Adler in the film).
Indeed, as something of a super fan of the movie, it might (i.e. does) explain why I have accepted an invitation to the tournament in the hope of gaining a glimpse of the imposing fortress (and maybe even make a visit there). Moreover, there is every chance that when I walk the course on Sunday afternoon I will be daydreaming that I am Richard Burton, barking orders at Clint Eastwood, and seeking to uncover the name of the spy at the heart of British wartime intelligence.
The fantasy has already begun, in fact, because while I won’t be going to quite the same lengths (blowing up castles, cable cars, and bridges), I am genuinely pretending that the quest to identify this week’s winner is a task similar to Burton’s.
That said, the venue is not perched on a rock at the side of a mountain and gaining entrance should be a doddle compared to the convoluted palaver that screenwriter Alastair MacLean dreamed up for Burton.
Golfclub Gut Altentann is a parkland layout designed by the Jack Nicklaus team which means it places more emphasis on quality approach shots than demanding drives. Beyond that architectural nugget, however, there are few other clues because the course has not hosted tournament golf on the third tier or above. It’s far from the worst clue, however.
Of the favourites, Jordan Smith is as consistent as ever but built into that is a consistent difficulty with actually winning. Matthew Jordan continues to seek his first win, Joost Luiten is in Smith country, and Haotong Li probably prefers a test that favours driving over approaches. The actual favourite Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen makes most appeal as a likely winner yet his price is off-putting.
First pick instead goes to JORGE CAMPILLO. The Spaniard had a rotten time of it last week in Belgium, missing the cut, but a week earlier he was an excellent second in the Turkish Airlines Open and the off-week has pushed his price out to 40/1.
He’s enjoyed Nicklaus designs in the past, notably when seventh at Mount Juliet in 2022, then ninth at Ishioka, and third at Jack Nicklaus Korea in 2023. He topped the strokes gained approach stats in Turkey which bodes well. True, he’ll need to tweak it after the Antwerp blip but he’s a worker and he’s also phlegmatic enough to remain calm. In Austria, he has top 10s at Diamond CC and Klagenfurt. He also has top 10s at parkland layouts such as The Belfry, Eichenried, and Milano.
Next up is Kiwi DANIEL HILLIER who shares a similar current form profile to Campillo in that he was ninth in the Hainan Classic (his penultimate start) before missing the cut last week in Belgium. Through 17 holes of his first round he was in red numbers and doing fine, then he hit an errant tee shot and lost his head, racking up an eight on the par-4 ninth.
He’s capable of a reset and is a confirmed fan of European parkland tests. The first time he threatened to win on the Challenge Tour was when third at Galgorm Castle in 2021. He was also seventh at Adamstal in Austria a year later, shortly before winning at Saint Apollinaire in Switzerland (nice Alpine vibes). His breakthrough victory on the DP World Tour came at the Belfry in 2023, not long after he’d been fifth at Bernardus in the Netherlands and third at Eichenried.
His Nicklaus record is a little better than it looks at first glance. He was T11 at St Mellion in 2022 when second with 18 holes to play. He opened with a fine 65 when T23 at Ishioka in 2023. And in last October’s visit to Jack Nicklaus Korea he was three shots back of the 54 hole lead before finishing T22.
If the price of Neergaard-Petersen has spooked me a little, the price of another promising young talent has not. The three best results of the 2024 season for ANGEL AYORA were a win at Rosa in Poland (European parkland), second at the Nicklaus-designed Hangzhou Westlake International, and second again in the Grand Final. Put together they offer both suitability and quality.
He got his rookie main tour campaign off to a flier with fifth place at Leopard Creek and has shown further signs of his class with top 20s in Qatar and Kenya. He opened last week with a 65, ranked fourth for strokes gained tee to green (his best effort of the season) and finished T11. The 66/1 was a very welcome sight.
CALUM HILL has shown very little since winning the Joburg Open but I can’t ignore him at triple figures and it’s because viewing YouTube videos of the holes at Gut Altentann did remind me of the London GC – another Nicklaus design. Hill won there in 2021 and he was also third at Ishioka in 2023. That win in Johannesburg even came at Hougton, an old-style track that Nicklaus renovated. Hill has also been victorious at Galgorm Castle (parkland) and Adamstal (Austria).
Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa has a fine Nicklaus record but has struggled in Europe itself since winning his way onto the DP World Tour. Fabrizio Zanotti made the long list, too.
Big-priced outsider selection instead goes to CONOR PURCELL. He landed two wins on the Challenge Tour in 2024 to earn promotion to the main circuit and both feel like handy pointers for this week.
The first was at the parkland Galgorm Castle in the Northern Ireland Open and the second was on that Nicklaus-designed Hangzhou Westlake International.
Moreover, his other performances at Nicklaus courses have shown promise. He was three shots off the 18, 36, and 54 hole lead when T17 at Classic in India, top 10 all week when ninth at St Mellion and top 10 with 18 holes to play when T17 there in 2023. Two top 20s in China are his best this season but he sniffed around the top 25 last week in Belgium before finishing T49 and the clincher is the big price.
Posted at 1900 BST on 26/05/25
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