Some horrendous golfing conditions in Korea over the weekend put paid to any real entertainment at the Ballantines Championship on the European Tour, so it’s kind of nice to see the tour returning to it’s traditional home in this weeks Open De Espana.

Spaniard Gonzalez Fernando-Castano heads the betting with totesport and is in a fine run of form finishing second in his last three tournaments. Add to that another three top twenty-five finishes in 2009 and he comes here in terrific form. There could be a question mark over mental and physical fatigue what with being in contention and traveling all over the world the past month but he should have a few home comforts here in Madrid. You can back the Spaniard at 14/1 with totesport.

Another Spaniard who’s been playing his golf away from home at late is Alvaro Quiros. The 25/1 shot looks a very big price in this field having already racked up a victory on the European Tour this season at the Qatar masters. Quiros has been playing on the PGA Tour of late but has missed the cut on his last two appearances, including his debut at the Masters. This recent form could be the reason for the rather generous odds on offer but providing he returns to Spain better for the experience (it wasn’t a complete wash-out having finished tied 13th in the WGC-CA) he looks a good bet here.

Elsewhere at the top of the betting there’s plenty with a chance in what looks like an open betting heat. 16/1 second favourite Soren Kjeldsen comes here fresh from winning in Seville last month (tipped up by us no less!), 18/1 shot Francesco Molinari looks to build on two third place finishes in his last two starts on tour whilst two Ryder Cup players Soren Hansen and Miguel-Angel Jimenez will go close if they find form (both 20/1 with totesport).

Further down the betting, we’ve picked out a trio who finished in the top ten last time the tournament was played at the PGA Golf de Catalunya. Colin Montgomerie, Gary Orr and Niclas Fasth finished 5th, 6th and 7th back in 2000 and line up again here almost a decade later. It’s arguable that both Monty and Fasth were a different proposition back then and although consistently making the top forty in tournaments neither have done little to trouble the leaders for some time now. You can back Montgomerie at 50/1 and Fasth at 70/1 with totesport but it’s Orr who catches the eye out of the trio at 125/1. There’s little reason to back the Scot based on 2009 form but he played well in this part of the the world at the end of the 2008 season and could be worth an each-way shot at a big price here.

For some more recent course form the final qualifying stage of the Tour School took place here last November, so we’ve picked out some of the fore-runners from there. The top five then all start this week. Oskar Henningson (100/1) was a four shot winner back in November but it would appear he’s had the quietest time on tour in 2009 making only one cut, albeit last week. Wade Ormsby and Carlos Del Moral tied second at Tour School and are priced 250/1 and 66/1 respectively this week with totesport. The English pair of Danny Willett and Chris Wood finished fourth and fifth respectively and can be backed at 33/1 and 66/1 this week.

It is the Spaniard Del Moral that catches the eye at those prices, along with Michael Hoey who finished 8th at Tour School. Del Moral had three top twenty finishes on tour before missing the cut last week and will be pumped up for this on home soil. Hoey on the other hand already has a tour win to his name this season when winning the Estoril Open de Portugal. At 66/1 and 40/1 respectively these two young players represent some value with there course form.

If each-way betting is your bag, you can bet each-way on the outright market of any European or PGA Tour golf event and if your selection finishes sixth, on his own, totesport will refund the place part of your stake with a free bet on the following week’s tournaments!

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.