Catalunya Championship 2026 Betting Tips: Five to bring the pain in Spain

After Mikael Lindberg closed out the Asian Swing with a breakthrough success at the Turkish Open, the DP World Tour now begins the European Swing in Spain, with the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship at Real Club de Golf El Prat in Barcelona.

Star golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his usual long-read preview of the event. He's picked out five players he likes to follow, so check out Jamie's thoughts and his Catalunya Championship 2026 Betting Tips below...

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TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

The Catalunya Championship was first held in 2022 at PGA Catalunya's Stadium Course, where home favourite Adri Arnaus won his first DP World Tour (DPWT) title in a playoff against South Africa's Oliver Bekker.

It returns after a four-year hiatus this week, with former Open de España host Real Club de Golf El Prat taking up hosting duties.

THE COURSE

Real Club de Golf El Prat – Pink Course

• Original architect / Year opened: Greg Norman / 2003
• Previous tournaments: The 2011 and 2015 editions of the Open de España were played on the Open composite at El Prat. This week's event will use the Pink composite, which shares the same back nine
• Par / Yardage: Par 72 / 7,057 yards
• Hole breakdown:
  • 4x par 3s (151-233 yards)
  • 10x par 4s (354-465 yards)
  • 4x par 5s (540-593 yards)
• Course style: The setup is a story of two nines, with the flatter and more densely tree-lined front nine making way for a more open and hilly back nine, where striking elevation changes are commonplace
• Fairways:
  • The doglegging fairways are reasonably generous, but some bottlenecks force players to lay up for position
  • Penal and strategically placed bunkers litter the landing areas
  • With smartly positioned trees impeding lines into the greens, finding the correct side is imperative
• Greens:
  • Elevated and undulating greens are speedy, featuring a mixture of large and small targets
  • Many are narrow/shallow in shape and angled to the fairway, causing problems on approach
  • They are surrounded by deep greenside bunkers and tightly-mown chipping areas
• Defences: With water in play on just two holes, it's left to intelligent course design, punishing bunkers, and challenging greens to make things difficult

Real Club de Golf El Prat provides players with a varied risk/reward test on exciting layouts made for championship golf.

Despite several tournaments having been held here, it has been 11 years since the DPWT last visited these grounds, and with a different course setup in play, it's tough to know exactly what to expect.

There are four gettable par 5s and several short par 4s that can be attacked with a drive and a wedge. However, quality, controlled ball striking will be a necessity to engineer these scoring chances, and I expect nothing to be freely given.

THE WEATHER

Light rain is forecast at the beginning of the week, and it will turn into something a little heavier on Saturday before disappearing entirely for the final round. A steady 10mph breeze should keep the players honest, and with the wind kicking up at around 15mph on Sunday, the course could be at its toughest for round four.

KEY STATS

SG: Off-the-Tee (SG: OTT) and/or Driving Accuracy

SG: Approach / Greens-in-Regulation (GIR)

This is a strong ball-striking test, demanding not just accuracy but the ability to place the ball in the optimum positions.

I expect the driver to be key and while I do think longer hitters can enjoy success, previous winners around this layout, such as James Morrison (2015 Open de España) and Thomas Aiken (2011 Open de España), suggest those lacking control off the tee will be penalised.

That being said, with greens that may be receptive yet not necessarily easy to find, quality with the irons should be equally important.

CORRELATING EVENTS

The Open de España at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid looks the best way into this event. Undulating with frequent elevation changes and generous fairways on the front nine, players also need to be smart off the tee there, placing the ball in the correct position in order to best attack the largely narrow greens.

I'll stay in Spain and I think either of the final hosts of the Andalucia Masters, Real Club de Golf Sotogrande (2023-2024) or Real Club Valderrama (2017-2022) are worth checking out. Both are tree-lined and hilly, with well protected fairways and challenging green complexes.

As a strategic, tree-lined course with generous, well-bunkered fairways and narrow/shallow greens, Joburg Open host Houghton Golf Club is another I felt could work.

To finish, I'm going to throw last year's Italian Open venue Argentario Golf Club into the mix. It too showcases a narrow, more tightly tree-lined front nine that transforms into open and hilly holes on the back, whilst the generous fairways are protected by strategically placed bunkers.

THE FIELD

This week's field features just one player from the world's top 100, No. 66 Jayden Schaper. Angel Ayora is next best at No. 103 and is the highest-ranking home player in attendance, with Eugenio Chacarra not too far behind at No. 123.

The winner of the Catalunya Championship in 2022, Adri Arnaus, is also in the field; Norwegian amateur Michael Mjaaseth (ranked No. 12) is among the tournament invites; and it's a welcome back to DPWT action for Marcus Helligkilde, who hasn't been seen on the tour since June 2024 due to persistent neck and shoulder problems.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Jayden Schaper 16/1, Angel Ayora 16/1, Ewen Ferguson 20/1, Hennie Du Plessis 22/1, Eugenio Chacarra 22/1

2 pts Eugenio Chacarra each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 22/1

Continuing to perform well following his final-round frustrations in India, Eugenio Chacarra tops the list. He's got some encouraging form around this setup from his amateur days and, with last week's putting display matching the quality he's shown all year from tee-to-green, he looks a likely contender in his home country.

Chacarra began the year with a 15^th-place finish among a strong field at the Dubai Invitational and also hit the top 25 on a rare PGA Tour start in Puerto Rico. That provided him with somewhat of a springboard when defending his Indian Open title, as he was in control for much of the event before slipping up late on Sunday to finish 2^nd.

He showed great resilience on his following appearance with a top-10 at the Tulum Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. Meanwhile, he returns to Spain having finished 18^th at the Turkish Open.

Despite sitting 92^nd in the season-long standings, it was the putter that orchestrated that result, ranking 9^th. If he can maintain that improvement on the greens while bringing the best of his ball striking – ranking 29^th in SG: Approach, 44^th in SG: OTT and 50^th in GIR – to the party, he'll be well placed to challenge.

Finishing 3^rd at the 2017 Campeonato de España Amateur, Chacarra is more than familiar with El Prat's Pink Course layout. A result of 7^th at last year's potentially correlating Italian Open also bodes well, and with his time on LIV reaping a 12^th-place finish at Valderrama, I expect him to give the Spanish fans something to cheer about this week.

1.25 pts Martin Couvra each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 40/1

Winning the Challenge de España on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2023, playing in Spain should reignite extremely positive memories for Martin Couvra. He’s another player who has already tackled this venue during his amateur days, and he has the tools to make that count in the first event of the European Swing.

With just two missed cuts alongside five top-25s in 2026, Couvra has done little wrong this year. Finishes of 9^th at the Hainan Classic and 10^th at the Dubai Desert Classic rate as his standout efforts, and he also enjoyed a spin around TPC Louisiana at the Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour, placing 20^th alongside Matthieu Pavon.

It was in SG: Approach that the young Frenchman excelled last year, ranking 21^st; indeed, his promising runner-up finish at the Italian Open was engineered by quality in this area. He’s failed to hit that level this campaign, but this has been compensated by strength with the driver, ranking 15^th in SG: OTT, and he’s also looking much sharper on and around the greens.

Couvra played El Prat’s Pink Course in the 2021 Spanish Amateur, where he ended 13^th in the stroke play segment before going out at the last-16 stage in match play. That was one of several positive results during this point of his career in Spain, and he transferred that affinity to the pro game in 2023 with his aforementioned success on the HotelPlanner Tour.

All of these are experiences that should serve him well as he aims for DPWT title No. 2 in Barcelona.

1 pt Dan Bradbury each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 45/1

When on the lookout for strong ball strikers who have positive form in Spain as well as several comp courses, Dan Bradbury immediately jumps off the page. He arrives after missing the cut in Turkey, but he did make a marked improvement from round one to two. He should be raring to go at El Prat.

Bradbury has been inconsistent in 2026, though there has still been plenty of evidence of how dangerous he is when conditions suit. He produced a sparkling final-round display to win for the second time at the Joburg Open back in March and also hit the top five in Qatar.

Furthermore, while his missed cut last week was disappointing, he improved by a massive 10 shots in round two, following his six-over 78 on Thursday with a four-under 68. Enhancing his performance with every club in the bag, I’m happy to forgive that opening-round slump following a five-week absence and suspect he’ll be much sharper in Spain.

The Englishman’s irons have shone most this season, ranking 19^th in SG: Approach and 22^nd in GIR. He’s also 23^rd in SG: OTT – displaying that balance of power and accuracy that we’ve become so accustomed to seeing – while the one club that looked sound all week in Turkey was the putter.

Bradbury first came to everyone’s attention when finishing 13^th at the 2022 Open de España on just his second DPWT appearance. He was 6^th there the following year, and as a two-time winner of the Joburg Open who was 3^rd at last year’s Italian Open, his comp form stacks up against almost anyone in attendance.

1 pt Matteo Manassero each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 50/1

I was tempted to take another chance on Francesco Molinari, but the putting woes coupled with a poor driving display in Turkey were just too big of a concern to ignore. Instead, I’ve jumped ship to compatriot Matteo Manassero, whose form is trending in the right direction after an underwhelming start to the year.

Failing to crack the top 30 across his first four appearances, Manassero has completely turned his results around in recent events. He recorded a first top-25 at the South African Open, finishing 24^th and followed up with a season’s best 9^th at the Indian Open. A missed cut in China temporarily halted his progress, though he bounced back immediately at the Turkish Open, finishing 13^th.

His approach play was strong there, as it has been all season, ranking 12^th. He’s also made gains with the putter, and it was extremely encouraging to see him drive it so straight around that tricky layout, ranking 7^th in driving accuracy.

Manassero competed here in each of the 2011 and 2015 Open de Españas, finishing 29^th and 61^st, respectively. It was in Spain in 2010 that the then 17-year-old set the record as the youngest ever winner on the DPWT at the Castello Masters; 16 years on, he’s primed to win his sixth tour title at El Prat.

1 pt Fred Biondi each-way (1/5 - 10 places) @ 250/1

I’m going to take a punt on Brazilian youngster Fred Biondi to finish. He has positive experiences of golfing in Spain and having played excellent golf from tee-to-green last week, he may be about to fulfil some of that immense potential he showed as an amateur.

Biondi won two of the biggest titles of his amateur career in 2023, leaving several PGA Tour winners in his wake when winning the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational and NCAA D1 Championship (Stroke Play) – victories that helped him rise to No. 9 in the rankings.

He proved he had the ability to perform at a higher level towards the end of that year, finishing inside the top 25 at the Bermuda Championship and RSM Classic on the PGA Tour. His 26^th-place finish at the Valspar Championship the following year is another eye-catching result but ultimately, a failure to make his mark on the Korn Ferry Tour left him without full status anywhere in 2025.

A trip to DPWT Q-School six months ago put that right, as he finished 18^th at Infinitum Golf – a layout located just an hour away from El Prat that shares similarities with this week’s host.

Starts haven’t been easy to come by this season, though he has performed solidly when given the chance. He was 32^nd at the Mauritius Open in the final event of last year and arrives here having made three of his last four cuts, finishing 48^th at the Kenya Open, 37^th at the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour, and 38^th at the Turkish Open.

Biondi hit his irons better than he has all season there, ranking 6^th in GIR and 21^st in SG: Approach. In fact, he produced quality throughout the bag to rank 8^th from tee-to-green and as a player who has the game to finish 26^th at a layout as demanding as the Valspar Championship’s Copperhead Course, he has more than enough ability to outplay this monster price.

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