Andalucia Open de Espana 2024 Tips: Three to win on the LET

After the curtain came down on the 2024 LPGA season last week, it’s now time for the final event of the Ladies European Tour season, as players head to Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf in Malaga, for the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana.

As always, our star golf tipster Jamie Worsley's has his usual preview for us and here is his Andalucia Open de Espana 2024 Tips, featuring three selections he expects to go well.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

A version of the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana (AKA the Open de Espana Femenino) was first staged in 1982, though it was only added as an official event on the Ladies European Tour in 2002. It has exclusively been the finale of the season since 2020.

Just two players have recorded multiple victories in the event in the LET era, with Azahara Munoz (2016, 2017) and Anne Van Dam (2018, 2019) recording wins in back-to-back years. However, Laura Davies has recorded two wins – one in each era – and Frenchwoman, Marie-Laure de Lorenzi won the event twice prior to 2002.

Last five winners:

• 2023 – Winner: Aditi Ashok (-17); runner-up; Anne Van Dam (-15)
• 2022 – Winner: Caroline Hedwall (-18, playoff); runner-up: Morgane Metraux (-18)
• 2021 – Winner: Carlota Ciganda (-11); runner-up: Maja Stark (-7)
• 2020 – Winner: Emily Kristine Pedersen (-15); runner-up: Nuria Iturrioz (-11)
• 2019 – Winner: Anne Van Dam (-13); runners-up: Aditi Ashok, Nanna Madsen (-12)

Having gone close when 2^nd in 2019, Aditi Ashok finally got her hands on the Open de Espana title last year, beating two-time winner Anne Van Dam by two strokes for her fifth LET win. She returns to defend this week and would become the third player to successfully do so if again claiming the trophy.

THE COURSE

The Open de Espana changes host course most years and will be played at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf in Malaga for the first time this week. The course was designed by Finnish architect Kosti Kuronen and opened for play in 1987, though was redesigned by a certain Miguel Angel Jimenez in 2007, who regularly practices at the venue.

The layout plays as a par 72 and measures 6476 yards. It possesses 4x par 3s (139-173 yards), 10x par 4s (338-421 yards) and 4x par 5s (486-528 yards).

It is split into two reasonably distinctive nines. The first half of the tree-lined course is much tighter, with largely narrow fairways and built on hillier terrain, showcasing elevation changes throughout. Whilst the back nine is predominantly flat and more open, with wider fairways and is home to the only water in-play throughout the property, which features on five holes.

The putting surfaces across the course are small and could be difficult to hit with most narrow or shallow in shape. These firm, fast greens and their surrounds are rather undulating and can use a variety of challenging pin positions, whilst many are elevated, with run-offs commonplace and they are well protected by bunkers.

Rough is said to be somewhat of a non-factor and despite the small greens and some tight driving holes on the front line, there does appear to be plenty of scoring opportunities. All of the par 5s should be reachable in two for the majority of the field and there are several shorter par 4s that can be attacked with a solid drive and a wedge.

That being said, we are a little in the dark as to how this course will play and whilst kind conditions should also favour good scoring, everything does come attached with a note of caution.

THE WEATHER

The forecast looks absolutely perfect this week, with warm, dry and bright weather predicted each day and with little more than a puff of breeze, it will be up to the course itself to provide the challenge.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation
• Driving Distance
• Par 5 Scoring

I’m going to keep things simple this week and due to those small, tough-to-hit greens, it’s with high-class iron players that I’m going to side in Malaga.

Though not an absolute necessity due to the lack of distance within the course, I do fancy longer hitters to enjoy these surroundings. Although the fairways are narrower on the front nine, with little punishing rough or strategic bunkering it shouldn’t be too penal for missing the short grass, before they then get to appreciate the more generous landing areas on the back nine.

Additionally, the par 5s all look like good scoring opportunities, and I suspect a player will need to make their fair share of birdies-or-better on these holes to contend.

THE FIELD

This limited 75-woman field is open to the top players in the LET’s Order of Merit for this season. However, we will be without the leading player in those standings, Chiara Tamburlini, who has decided to skip this event and rest before heading to the LPGA Q-Series in December.

As usual, Carlota Ciganda will tee it up in her home open and enters this week as the top-ranked player on the Rolex Rankings at #39. She is the only player in attendance from inside the world’s top 50 and one of just two from the top 100, alongside our reigning champion, Aditi Ashok.

Each of those are former winners of this event and they are part of a five-strong group of past champions, joined by Caroline Hedwall (2022), Anne Van Dam (2019, 2018) and Lee-Anne Pace (2013).

Among the tournament invites for the event are a trio of talented Spanish amateurs, who all sit inside the top 25 in the amateur rankings currently: Andrea Revuelta, Paula Martin Sampedro and Carla Bernat. Revuelta actually won the Spanish Ladies Amateur at this course earlier this year.

Andalucia Open de Espana Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Andalucia Open de Espana market on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this tournament.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders: Carlota Ciganda 6/1, Helen Briem 6/1, Nicole Broch Estrup 9/1, Manon de Roey 14/1, Ana Pelaez Trivino 16/1, Fatima Fernandez Cano 16/1

There’s plenty of quality near the top of the betting and players who arrive here in good form. However, 19-year-old German and former #1 amateur, Helen Briem looks a level above most of these and I expect her to sign off the 2024 LET season in style this week.

6 pts Helen Briem win only @ 6/1

Briem turned pro in July this year after a stellar five-year amateur career, over which time she recorded wins in prestigious events such as the Espirito Santo Trophy (World Amateur Team Championship) and the Copa Sotogrande (European Nations Cup).

She kicked off 2024 with a win in another top amateur event, the Portuguese Internacional Ladies Amateur Championship. Although, she then spent much of the last few months of her amateur career teeing it up in pro events, finishing 2^nd in the Dormy Open on the LET back in June, before reeling off three wins in a row on the LET Access Series – the LET’s development tour.

Her record on that tour continued to thrive after she turned pro, winning the Rose Ladies Open at the start of September and she then followed that by succeeding on her first LET start as a professional, claiming the La Sella Open here in Spain. Finishes of 28^th in the Ladies Open de France and 4^th in the Aramco Series – Riyadh on her next two starts have been solid follow-up efforts and she arrives here with her game in great shape.

Measuring in at around 6ft 2, Briem is a real athlete, and she puts that frame to use to hit the ball a mile. She’s also an excellent iron player, ranking top 3 in greens-in-regulation and approach, and ranking 2^nd in par 5 scoring she can score well on those best birdie holes. Possessing a strong record in Spain, she looks the one they all have to beat this week.

2 pts Pia Babnik each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 22/1 

Pia Babnik has returned to form this year after a really difficult 2023 campaign. Arriving at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf after her best finish of the season last time out, she looks well placed to contend in this season-ending event.

Babnik burst onto the scene in 2021, winning two events on the LET as a 17-year-old. She again performed well in 2022, recording her best ever major finish when 3^rd in the Chevron Championship, though she completely lost her way last year, missing 16 of 21 cuts and failing to record a single top-30 finish. However, it’s been a different story in 2024.

She hasn’t missed a single cut across her 16 starts this season, recording nine top 25s. She hit the top 10 three times on the spin in June/July, in the Italian, Czech and Swiss Opens, though her best finish came on her last start, when she finished 3^rd in Riyadh behind Charley Hull, having entered that final round in the lead.

The Slovenian is hitting the ball well, ranking 38^th in approach and displaying that power that we’ve become to expect of her off the tee. Having played plenty of golf in Spain during her amateur days, winning no fewer than five titles in the country during that period, she should be feeling positive about returning here back in good form, and looks to have every chance of being among the leading contenders this week.

1 pt Virginia Elena Carta each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 50/1

Virginia Elena Carta is having a good year on the LET and as the standout iron player on tour, she has the skills to tame this test and record her breakthrough victory this week.

The Italian has made 22 starts this season and missed just five cuts. Her best run of form has come over recent months, as she reeled off consecutive finishes of 7^th in the La Sella Open, 4^th in the Ladies Open de France, 6^th in the Aramco Series – Shenzhen and 4^th in the Wistron Ladies Open – which is her highest top-10 tally of the last three years – and though not quite up to that same level on her last two starts, she’s still looked perfectly solid.

She ranks as by far the best approach player on tour, gaining over half a stroke more than the nearest player, and is also top 30 in GIR. While she may not be the longest player on tour, she possesses well above average power and can use this ball-striking ability to create plenty of birdie chances at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf.

Elena Carta still hasn’t managed to translate her amateur success – where she reached a high of #12 in the world – to the professional ranks, failing to record a win since shaking her amateur status three years ago. However, her highest pro finish to date came in the Santander Golf Tour Malaga on the LET Access Series in 2022, at Golf Torrequebrada – which is located just 14 miles south of this week’s venue – and I’m hoping the positive vibes of being back in the area can guide her to a first LET victory in Spain.

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