Golf betting tips: Open Championship spots up for grabs at the BMW International Open and John Deere Classic

Adrien Saddier made his breakthrough on the DP World Tour last week in the Italian Open. It was ball strikers to the fore and Saddier is one of the best from tee to green. 

The Frenchman claimed his maiden success at Argentario GC, clipping fast rising DP World Tour prodigy Martin Couvra by two strokes. Couvra now leads the European Swing rankings.

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Over in the US it was another low scoring event, just as we can expect this week at the John Deere Classic. 

Triple figure shot Aldrich Potgieter came out on top in a three-way playoff. There are Open Championship and Rolex Series spots on the line this week.

BMW International Open: Bradbury to bag another win in Germany? 

The BMW International Open comes from Golf Club Munich Eichenried and it’s the last event on the DP World Tour’s European Swing. £2m is in the pot along with 3,500 ‘Race to Dubai’ points. Ewen Ferguson (40/1 Betway) defends the title he won just one year ago.

The winner of the ‘European Swing’ earns a bonus of £145,000 and entry into next week’s Rolex Series event, Genesis Scottish Open, which we will have a full betting preview of. It is the precursor to the 153rd Open Championship from Royal Portrush.

Leading the BMW International Open market is Patrick Reed (10/1 BetMGM) who quite likes playing in Germany. He joins us fresh off the back of a playoff win in LIV Golf Dallas.

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Dane, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen looks the outstanding candidate in the BMW International Open field and while I expect he will be there or thereabouts on Sunday I can just about ignore him at quotes of 18s. 

‘European Swing’ leader Martin Couvra looks overpriced at some golf bookmakers including the 40/1 with Betway.

Big hitting David Puig is another of the LIV golfers extended an invite this week and the talented Spaniard is on offer at 16/1 with BetMGM. Matti Schmid (33/1 with BetMGM) is an in-form home player to watch out for.

Munich Eichenried is a parklands style course. It’s a risk reward style track with plenty of water hazards, playing nearly 7,400 yards to a par of 72. We usually see the big names rising to the top over four days and the winning total averages in the high teens.

Marco Penge was a recent winner on the DP World Tour when he did the business at the Hainan Classic. 

Watching him last week in Italy, the power hitter’s ball striking seemed back to its best. He’s now showing progressive form of t28-t25-t21 and Munich Eichenried looks like it might be a good course fit for him. 

Penge currently ranks seventh in ‘driving distance’, fourth in ‘greens in regulation’ and 11th in ‘putts per GIR’.

Marcel Schneider is a German national hitting the top of his form right now and at 50/1 or so I won’t leave him out of the staking plan. 

Schneider finished t7 in the Italian Open where he just failed to put four rounds together, slipping to a 72 on Saturday. The 35-year-old was recently second in the Austrian Open where he had a good chance to win down the stretch.

Dan Bradbury has changed his putter lately, and it seemed to be working well for the Englishman when he came flying out of the traps with four birdies and an opening round of 64 to hold the first-round lead in Italy. 

It was a bit of an up and down week for Bradbury who closed with a 67 for a t3 finish. This was off the back of a t7 at the KLM Open and Bradbury could soon be finding win number three on the DP World Tour. The shrewd bettor may side with the each way bet here as they weigh up to go with better places or bigger prices.

FIRST’s top tips for the BMW International Open 

Big hitting Marco Penge looks like he is about to hit top gear again. Back him to win the tournament at 33/1 (six places) each way with BetMGM.

Marcel Schneider is one of the home challengers and he is trending in the right direction. Back the German at 50/1 each way (seven places) with Ladbrokes.

Dan Bradbury is another man who looks to be playing his best stuff. Back the Englishman for his third DP World Tour victory at 80/1 (six places) each way with BetMGM.

John Deere Classic: Go low or go home with inform Ben Griffin the man to beat

Davis Thompson (33/1 with BetMGM) set a record-breaking score at the John Deere Classic last year (28-under par) to win for the first time on the PGA Tour and book a spot into the Open Championship. 

A year previously Sepp Straka did similar and has since gone from strength to strength. Michael Kim (50/1 Spreadex) blitzed the John Deere field in 2018 with a score of 27-under par.

These types of events are extremely important and the likes of Jason Day, Si Woo Kim, and Sungjae Im frontload the John Deere Classic market this week. Respect must be given to Chris Kirk too at around the 30/1 mark.

TPC Deere Run is a DA Weibring design with bentgrass fairways and greens, and bluegrass rough. The course is there to be attacked, and low numbers are available. 

Immaculate greens are perched and guarded by beautiful white marble bunkering in this pristine parklands’ venue. Any type of player can win, usually those with the best wedge and putting game on the week. 

This is where the in-play golf betting market could prove a big factor in finding the true value during the weekend’s action.  

Bud Cauley has been on my radar for a few weeks now. He has some form at the John Deere Classic with three top 20 finishes in the record books a few years back. 

Recent finishes for Cauley include a third place at the Charles Schwab Challenge, t4 at Valspar, t5 at the Valero and a top six finish at the Players Championship. Cauley is ranked 16th in ‘strokes gained approach’ in 2025.

Lucas Glover is a name that comes up in some key stats categories. Glover ranks second in ‘approaches from 125-150 yards’ on tour, very much a key metric for TPC Deere Run. The American shot a final round 7-under par 64 to win here in 2021 and has a strong course fit profile.

Zach Johnson is a former winner of the John Deere Classic, and he has the perfect skillset for the test. 

Johnson owns a string of top three finishes here from 2009 to 2015 and the former Ryder Cup captain has some sneaky recent form behind him which includes a top 10 finish at the Masters. He’s famed for his wedge game and putting and if they are on point this week, he could be a live outsider.

FIRST’s top tips for the John Deere Classic 

After injury Bud Cauley is playing some of his best golf. Back him to win the John Deere at 40/1 (six places) each way with Spreadex.

Lucas Glover is a former winner of the John Deere Classic and is a wizard with a wedge. Back him at 33/1 each way (10 places) with Coral.

Zach Johnson has a remarkably similar profile to Glover. Back the Iowa native at an off-the-radar 125/1 (10 places) each way with Ladbrokes or Coral.

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Odds correct at the time of writing.