2020 Italian Open Betting Preview

The European Tour heads to northern Italy after a low-scoring week in Scotland. Renato Paratore leads a host of countrymen taking part in the action, although many other household names have made the trip to Brescia.

Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are here, as is the defending champion of this event, Bernd Wiesberger.

This betting preview zeroes in on a few names to consider when locking in your picks. My 2020 Italian Open predictions and pick to win follow, but I’ll start with the current odds.

A runner-up finish at Fairmont St Andrews was enough for the top bookmakers to install Matt Wallace at the top of the betting sheet. Bernd Wiesberger (2019 Italian Open winner) is actually the top-ranked golfer in the field at #35 in the latest OWGR, with Victor Perez (#37) and Lee Westwood (#42) following closely behind.

Wallace clocks in at #46 and is feeling great about his game, so much so that he now dances after hitting solid bunker shots.

When you're taking a three shot lead into Sunday ?#AXAScottishChamps pic.twitter.com/TgU6N6yarB

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 17, 2020

Nothing suggests Matt will play poorly in Italy, but quite frankly, +800 is a bit too rich for my blood.

With no sincere course history at Chervo Golf Club to fall back on, it’s best to target a premier ball-striker who has been playing good golf as of late. A few names immediately come to mind, including a couple who played well last week in Scotland.

Nevertheless, the Italian Open pick I’m keying in on is Jordan Smith.

The 27-year-old Englishman has one European Tour victory on his resume, although he won twice on the Challenge Tour and finished 9^th in his first start at a major (2017 PGA Championship).

Ranked 3^rd on tour in GIR and 6^th in stroke average, I last highlighted Smith in my BMW PGA Championship sleepers post. 13^th at Wentworth tells me I was on the right track, and it appears as if Jordan has an affinity for playing golf in Italy.

Or maybe it’s the wine and the pasta.

Either way, Smith has produced solid results in the last three Italian Opens (24^th-8^th-21^st).

Check out the snippets below as I reveal three additional Italian Open predictions.

Picking Lee Westwood to crack the top-20 is too easy. “Westy” has landed 19^th or better in six straight starts, although he hasn’t registered anything better than a 10^th-place showing during that stretch.

The odds for a top-10 finish this week aren’t jumping off the page, but you want to aim for dependable players when attacking the top-10 market.

Well, nobody in this field has been more reliable than Westwood over the last two months.

A quick glance at Adri Arnaus’ game log and you’ll see zero top-20s since mid-July. Look closer and you’ll see three consecutive top-32s and a player who’s quietly rounding into form. It’s a bit of a reach to suspect it all comes together and leads to Adri hoisting the trophy.

However, a top-20 at the Italian Open is within the realm of reasonable expectations.

Bernd Weisberger is one of the favorites leading into this event but beware of his recent form. Wiesberger has made nine worldwide starts since the restart and has generated a total of one top-25.

And don’t get too caught up in Bernd’s victory at the 2019 Italian Open. That event took place in Rome some 530 kilometers away.