Out of the Rough: Omega European Masters (2026)

The 2026 PGA Tour season may have come to an end but there is still meaningful golf being played across the pond as the DP World Tour continues on.

The European based tour takes to Crans Montana, Switzerland for this week’s Omega European Masters at the stunning Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

This event was first founded as the Swiss Open in 1923 and was first held at the Crans-sur-Sierre in 1939. This beautiful piece of golf-history has been the host of this event since.

The Omega European Masters has been a part of the DP World Tour since its inception in 1972.

The Field

As the 2026 PGA Tour season has officially come to an end, we’ll begin to see some of its regulars make their way into DP World Tour events.

Last week in England we saw a few and this week in Switzerland is no different.

The likes of Nicolai Hojgaard, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Marco Penge, Ryan Gerard, Haotong Li, Rasmus Hojgaard, Harry Hall, Matt Wallace, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Niklas Norgaard, Jesper Svensson, Erik van Rooyen, among other are those PGA Tour regulars teeing it up this week.

Again, as the LIV Golf Tour season has also come to a close two weeks back, many of its players will be making the trip to Switzerland as well. 

That list includes Victor Perez, Adrian Meronk, David Puig, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Thomas Detry.

Notable DP World Tour regulars playing this week include Patrick Reed, Eugenio Chacarra, Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper, Bernd Wiesberger, Hennie Du Plessis, Dan Bradbury and Mikael Lindberg.

Thriston Lawrence comes in as the defending champion. He topped a slew of competitors by two strokes, including Rasmus Hojgaard, Sami Valimaki and Wallace. Lawrence also won this event in 2022.

Other former winners of this event playing this week include Wallace (2024,) Rasmus Hojgaard (2021,) Sebastian Soderberg (2019,) Danny Willett (2015,) Miguel Angel Jimenez (2010) and Garcia (2005.) 

The Course

Crans-sur-Sierre is one of the most picturesque settings in the world of golf as it provides a spectacular view of the Crans Montana mountain range at all times.

The course plays as a par-70 at 6,824 yards

Although the course was established in 1908, it has been tweaked and modified significantly throughout its life.

In 1999, a redesign was spearheaded by Seve Ballesteros. Another set of changes came in 2013 as four holes (10,12, 13 and 17) were addressed. 

The biggest change that came in 2013 was to the par-three 13th hole. Lakes were added in front of the green and a seating area was added behind it.

Further changes were made to holes one, two, four, five, nine and 14 in 2014. 

The fairways and fairway bunkers were remodeled for holes one, two and four. The tee of the par-four fifth hole was moved back 25 yards, making the hole a no longer driveable par-four.

The ninth hole was completely remodeled with changes to the fairways and bunkers. The green and green complex were made to be completely new as well.

Coming into this season, further changes were performed on the seventh hole. The green for the seventh hole was completely renovated, and the tee-box was pushed back approximately 16-yards.

Additionally, a new precision irrigation system was installed to help keep the course in top playing condition, especially with the recent heatwave.

Unlike most tracks on the DP World Tour’s rotation that are known for their difficult final stretch of holes, the real challenge this week comes at the start.

The first hole was once a very easy par-five here at the Crans-sur-Sierre but was changed to a par-four eight years ago. It now plays as the hardest hole on the course.

Holes two, three and four continue the difficult start as they rank fifth, third and second in terms of difficulty on the course respectively. 

All of the fairways at Crans-sur-Sierre are sloped and are mostly tree lined. They are also average in terms of width when it comes to DP World Tour standards.

The greens also add to the challenge of this course as they are small and shaped like upturned saucers.

Water is in-play on six holes this week as well. Those holes include ten, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18.

Holes six and seven are short, driveable par fours.

The par-five 14th hole plays as the easiest hole on the course seeing dozens of eagles recorded across all four rounds. 

As this course sits at altitude, it does not play anywhere near the already short distance listed on the scorecard.

Therefore, there will be no need for driving distance this week and instead, will favor the fairway finders of the tour.

Since 2014, the winning score has been between -17 to -19 in six of the 11 events. Last year, Lawrence won at -22, the lowest score since Eduardo Romero’s -23 in 2000. 

In all, finding these small greens in regulation will be the key to victory. Golfers who do miss these small screens will have to get up-and-down to keep pace, adding an emphasis to scrambling.

Additionally, course form holds true here to this unique and quirky track.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, there is a 20-percent chance of precipitation on Thursday. Forecasts are then calling for just a 10-percent chance on Friday, a zero-percent chance on Saturday and a 15-percent chance on Sunday. Temperatures will be the lowest on Thursday with a high of 70-degrees. From there, temperatures will reach 76-degrees on Friday and 80-degrees for both Saturday and Sunday. Winds will begin the week at just six miles-per-hour for both Thursday and Friday before settling to five miles-per-hour across the weekend.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Scrambling

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Driving Accuracy

• Par 3 Average Scoring

• Par 4 Average Scoring

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Bogey Avoidance

Betting Card

Patrick Reed (+2450)

It took a lot of me not to build this card around Matt Wallace with his form, course history and the way he lines up statistically, but the price was too tough to do that. With that being said, Reed offers great value. He is currently second on Tour in both scrambling and bogey avoidance, fourth in SG: APP, 11th in GIR%, 24th in par-four average scoring, 25th in par-three average scoring, 62nd in SG: PUTT, 64th in SG: OTT, 72nd in birdie-or-better percentage and 132nd in driving accuracy percentage. Form wise, he hasn’t been the best, placing 55th last week at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, 30th at the Nexo Championship, 46th at The Open Championship and 13th at the Genesis Scottish Open. Now, course history is important here, don’t get me wrong, but it is also a place where elite talent wins on debut. Ludvig Aberg won here in 2023 and Rasmus Hojgaard won in 2021. Both on debut. I’m completely fine with taking the chance on Reed at 20/1-plus.

Keita Nakajima (+3000)

The darling of The Belfry and last week’s Husqvarna British Masters where he was most tipped but missed the cut. It’s the DP World Tour, that happens. I’m going back to the well however as he also placed fourth at the Nexo Championship, missed the cut at The Open Championship and placed third at the Genesis Scottish Open. He also most recently placed 20th at the Rocket Classic on the PGA Tour. He is currently first on Tour in GIR%, third in par-three average scoring, fourth in bogey avoidance, seventh in driving accuracy percentage, 11th in SG: OTT, 33rd in SG: APP, 36th in SG: PUTT, 99th in scrambling and 102nd in birdie-or-better percentage. He also placed 17th here a season ago.

Daniel Hillier (+3300)

I got sucked back in. Am I proud of myself? No. But here we are. Hillier is an interesting golfer. He has all the talent in the world but has high-highs and low-lows. He placed second last week at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo but had missed fourth consecutive cuts prior between the DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia and The Open Championship. Earlier this season he was littering top-fives at events such as the BMW Australian PGA Championship and Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. He was also the runner-up at the Dubai Invitational featuring many of the PGA Tour’s elite. He is currently second on Tour in par-four average scoring, eighth in birdie-or-better percentage, ninth in both GIR% and SG: OTT, 16th in SG: APP, 19th in bogey avoidance, 25th in driving accuracy percentage, 38th in SG: PUTT, 61st in scrambling and 69th in par-three average scoring. He last played this event in 2023 where he placed 63rd.

2025 Betting Card

• Matt Fitzpatrick (+900) - 5th

• Francesco Laporta (+4500) - MC

• Jason Scrivener (+15000) - T33rd

2024 Betting Card

• Thriston Lawrence (+1900) - T27th

• Sebastian Soderberg (+3300) - T12th

• Jesper Svensson (+4500) - MC

• Jordan Smith (+4500) - T12th

• Adrien Saddier (+6000) - T59th

• Andrea Pavan (+9000) - T22nd

2023 Betting Card

• Adrian Meronk (+1800) - T13th

• Alexander Bjork (+2500) - 2nd

• Thorbjorn Olesen (+4500) - T40th

• Nathan Kimsey (+6500) - T57th