Wales Open Tip: Rhys Davies

Welshman Rhys Davies will be determined to do well on home soil and after a difficult few months he is regaining the form that put him on the fringes of the Ryder Cup team.

A runner up in this event twelve months ago, Celtic Manor is a course he has played well with a T17 in 2009. Seemingly over his injury problems, Davies has strung a series of good results together. A T18 at Wentworth was his third consecutive top-25 finish on tour and a good result in a strong field.

With Celtic Manor a relatively new course there isn’t much there in regards to trouble, with barely a tree on the track. Instead, the hazards are man-made, with water and bunkers the particular problems. Ranking 18th on tour for sand saves makes Rhys Davies one of the better players in that regard, and he should be able to call on his skills to get out of the numerous traps.

At 25/1 he is towards the top of the market, but in a weaker field than the PGA he should rightly be considered one of the favourites.