Andrew's Dormy Open (HPT) Preview

After a very frustrating week in which none of our selections really got into what felt like a winnable event, despite a few good moments from Callan Barrow, we move onto the next week of HPT action with the KFT continuing to take a pre-playoff break. Scandinavia has always been a friend to the Challenge Tour and continues to provide a lot of great events for the HPT, which moves to Sweden this week. It probably isn't a coincidence that 25-percent of the European Ryder Cup team will be Scandinavian, just as it was last time around - and that isn't a number that looks likely to shrink at any point in the next decade or so.

The Tournament

We are at a new course this week, but the Dormy Open was in the calendar for some time before we were left with just the Indoor Golf Open (now defunct) as a Swedish event. To all intents and purposes, names don't matter enormously; there is lots of Swedish Challenge Tour golf to examine but no real course form. The course looks good - this is Upsala Golf Club (why the HPT refer to Upsala when every other reference I find is to Uppsala I cannot say, but they do) and it is a par-71 with four par-threes and three par-fives, measuring 6,771 yards. So, not the longest and it looks a traditional parkland track. Conditions will add to the challenge, it is likely to be breezy on Friday and legitimately windy on Sunday, and though it'll be dry it will be quite cool.

This is also a classic "new HPT course" preview in that there's a lot of guesswork involved. From looking at the reviews and the flyovers, we're seeing plenty of pine forests and some more open parkland holes, but it does look faintly claustrophobic and clearly accuracy is going to be more significant that power. There's water in play on a few holes and although there is some bunkering, it doesn't look significant. Greens are smaller than average and whole layout appears quite flat. What does all of that mean? Well, I suspect it'll come down to accuracy on approach and great putting, with power of limited use and not too much requirement for scrambling.  

The 2020 European Ladies' Team Championship was held here - the Swedes won, but don't take that as a sign that home advantage means much - Lynn Grant, Ingrid Lindblad, Maja Stark and Beatrice Wallin would have been the favourites just about anywhere given their strength relative to the field. It is significant that in a one-round strokeplay qualifier, Switzerland's -3 was the best score (taking three best individuals) with only three teams under par. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard's -4 was the best individual score. However, I think that with reasonable clear conditions, especially on Thursday and Friday, this men's field will score more heavily and I wouldn't be surprised to see totals of around -20 or so needed to win. There are similarities here with similar events this season at Interwetten, Cape Town, Kolkata and Scotland.

The Selections

It was hard to pick just one from the leading candidates, several of whom have good cases to be made but I think the likeliest winner is Julien Sale. The travelling salesman (oh, come on, like that isn't the correct nickname) has played plenty of golf on the Asian Tour of late, winning in the Philippines in January at Manila Southwoods. Whilst the weather will have been very different, a short Jack Nicklaus Asian-style test is highly relevant here, whilst Sale has also finished three times in the top-20 on his last three starts, and was 12th in the Indoor Golf when the Challenge Tour visited Sweden last year. He's classier than many in this field and this will suit.

Another who'll be licking his lips for this approach shot challenge is Jovan Rebula. I'm a big fan of the South African who will, I fear, long be known as "Ernie Els' nephew" and "the guy who won the Amateur Championship" - and, in truth, he's not yet done much as a pro to alter that. He was third in Interwetten recently, showing he can score heavily on short tracks and that he's brought his game to Europe, whilst fourth in Cape Town and in Mauritius on the DPWT are excellent correlating results from the South African summer. He's a pure value pick.

So, too, is my third play, John Gough. He's still a new pro, having spent his first professional season on the Clutch Tour in 2024. There are signs that he's figuring out life as an HPT player in recent starts, making six of his last eight cuts after missing six of his first nine. He was fourth in Scotland at the best recent test and his CPT wins last year came on English parkland tracks at Cumberwell Park and The Caversham. The Walker Cupper has all the game needed and now his confidence is high he can take the next step and really compete for a win at this level.

• Julien Sale, 1pt e/w, 28/1, 1/5 odds 6 places, Unibet.

• John Gough, 1pt e/w, 66/1, 1/5 odds 6 places, Unibet.

• Jovan Rebula, 1pt e/w, 100/1, 1/4 odds 5 places, Bet365.