News
Photo: Golf Post
A newcomer at the top of the market
Ludvig Åberg is playing the Open de España presented by Madrid for the first time this week, and the bookmakers already have him as the man to beat. The Swede opened as the outright favorite at +800 with Hard Rock Bet. He is just ahead of Jon Rahm, who has won Spain’s national open three times.
The DP World Tour event runs from Thursday, October 8, to Sunday, October 11, at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, with a purse of $3.75 million. It comes straight after Adrian Meronk’s win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The setup is simple: a first-time visitor is favored over the player who has dominated this tournament for most of the past decade.
Two books, one favorite
More than one bookmaker sees it this way. Hard Rock Bet’s board, published on Monday, lists more than 130 players at prices from +800 to +500000. Åberg sits at the top, with Rahm close behind at +850. A tip sheet from Bets.co.za published on Tuesday also named Åberg first among its each-way picks, at 10.00 with 10bet.
Åberg has no course history in this event to back up those odds. The market is betting on his overall quality as a player instead. He arrives in Madrid as one of the most highly rated players in the game, and he is the clear name to watch among the visitors.
Rahm and his national open
Rahm’s record at this event is hard to ignore. This is his eighth appearance at his national open. He won it on debut in 2018, won again in 2019 and took a third title in 2022. In 2024 he came close to a fourth, losing a playoff to Ángel Hidalgo.
A fourth victory would carry real historical weight. It would take Rahm past the three titles won by Seve Ballesteros, putting him one behind Ángel de la Torre, who holds the record with five wins between 1916 and 1925. The DP World Tour calls the Open de España “one of the tour’s most historic events,” and for a Spanish player, adding to that history in Madrid would be a major moment. Rahm also comes in with two worldwide wins already this season.
The rest of the field
Shane Lowry is third in the Hard Rock Bet market at +1750. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra and Patrick Reed are next, both at +2250. Lopez-Chacarra is one of the players in form. He is chasing his third DP World Tour win of the season, and Bets.co.za lists him at 23.00 with Hollywoodbets.
Defending champion Marco Penge won last year’s edition at 15-under. He is priced at +3000 with Hard Rock Bet and 29.00 with Betway in the Bets.co.za preview. Joakim Lagergren, at 41.00, completes that tip sheet’s list of each-way selections.
The field also includes experienced names such as Rafa Cabrera-Bello (+15000) and Francesco Molinari (+20000).
The question for the week
The main question going into Thursday is whether Åberg can justify his odds on debut against Rahm, who has made this tournament his own in recent years. Penge, Lopez-Chacarra and Lowry could still upset that head-to-head.
Follow every round on the Open de España presented by Madrid leaderboard.