DP World Tour: 2023 Italian Open Odds & Betting Preview

DP World Tour Makes 2023 European Debut at Ryder Cup Site for Italian Open

After touring the Middle East, Africa, and Asia since November, the DP World Tour makes its 2022-23 season debut in Europe for the 2023 Italian Open. The event moves from a September date to the spring because Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome is hosting the Ryder Cup this fall.

It’s a big week for many European players because Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has six wild-card picks to make to fill out his squad. So while players like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Viktor Hovland will be shoo-ins for the top-six automatic qualifiers, there are plenty of golfers in this week’s field that can impress the captain with a strong performance on this course.

The Course

The golf course at Marco Simone was built in 1989 and refreshed in 2020 in anticipation of the upcoming Ryder Cup. It’s a par-71, 7,268-yard course, and the track has drawn some complaints over several greens that can’t be seen on the approach shot. Because of that, Greens in Regulation is an important stat here.

The defending champion is Robert MacIntyre, who fired a -14 with Matt Fitzpatrick and then topped the U.S. Open winner in a playoff. Their score was one better than 2021 winner Nicolai Hojgaard’s -13 in the two Italian Opens hosted at Marco Simone GC.

Both Champions Here Among the Favorites

Four golfers sit at +1500 going into this event, including 2022 champ Robert MacIntyre and 2021 winner Nicolai Hojgaard. Hojgaard’s twin Rasmus Hojgaard and Adrian Meronk are the other two favorites.

MacIntyre will be coming in with confidence on the heels of three-straight top-10 finishes on tour, and his 64 on Sunday to catch Fitzpatrick and force a playoff last year will also be fresh in his mind. Meronk had a decent showing on the PGA Tour before returning to the DPWT last week in South Korea, where he finished 21^st.

Nicolai Hojgaard was runner-up on a PGA Tour event earlier this year. His brother, Rasmus, has returned from a shoulder injury in recent weeks. He was 16^th two weeks ago in Japan but missed the cut last week.

2023 Italian Open Other Contenders

Victor Perez (+2000)

Returns to action after a little bit of a break, but he was dominant during January’s desert swing, helping Continental Europe to a win at the Hero Cup and winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Last year, Perez also missed out on joining the playoff by one stroke.

Jorge Campillo (+2800)

Is a solid bet, bringing a run of four straight top-10 finishes with him to Italy, and he won a tournament in Kenya during that stretch. He finished ninth in this event last year, so he has the perfect mix of good form and a solid history here.

Joost Luiten (+2800)

Finished tied for third last week with Campillo and two others, making it three podium finishes in Luiten’s last six tournaments. Luiten has won six times on the DP World Tour but none in the last five years, so he could be poised for a breakthrough.

2023 Italian Open Odds

Among the top favorites, we favor MacIntyre and Meronk, who have good value despite having the top odds. We’ll also back Perez and Campillo further down the odds board.

Here are the latest odds from JazzSports for the DP World Tour’s 2023 Italian Open Odds.

GOLFERS	2023 ITALIAN OPEN ODDS
Rasmus Hojgaard	+1500
Nicolai Hojgaard	+1500
Robert MacIntyre	+1500
Adrian Meronk	+1500
Jordan Smith	+2000
Victor Perez	+2000
Antoine Rozner	+2500
Thorbjorn Olesen	+2500
Yannik Paul	+2800
Joost Luiten	+2800
Jorge Campillo	+2800