Omega European Masters 2024 FRL Tips: Canter leads Jamie’s five to watch

The DP World Tour heads to Switzerland this week and our golf tipster Jamie Worsley has already posted his Omega European Masters Betting Preview here at Betfred Insights.

Now though, he focuses on the First Round Leader market and has five names to consider playing at good odds. Check out his European Masters FRL Tips below…

*You can get all the latest Omega European Masters Odds over at betfred.com

A fast start is usually a necessity to contend at Crans-sur-Sierre and with play beginning on Thursday, I take a look at who can hit the top of the leaderboard on day one of the Omega European Masters. 

The weather forecast looks fairly even for both the early and later starters in round one, with cool temperatures, a gentle breeze and the threat of rainfall throughout the day. 

This is a course where first-round leaders often come from a wide variety of tee-times, with 20 of the 33 players to sit at least 2nd after round one over the last 10 editions teeing off in the morning, and 13 in the afternoon. Therefore, when combined with that unbiased weather forecast, I’m going to pick reasonably freely across the field to find our 18-hole leader. 

Laurie Canter 45/1 – 1/4 5 places – 1 pt ew 

Start time: 08:20 

First up is Englishman, Laurie Canter. He’s been having some fast starts of late and displaying an ability to go low at Crans on his debut appearance in 2018, he looks a strong contender to be leading at the end of round one. 

After 13 long years as a pro, Canter finally made his professional breakthrough in the European Open in June. He’s played five times since then and has performed solidly on his last two starts, finishing 25th in The Open and returned from a six-week break to finish in the same position in last week’s Betfred British Masters. 

This superb ball-striker has gone well several times in round one in recent starts and ranks 7th in first-round play in this field in 2024. Indeed, he fired a 3-under 69 to sit 5th after 18 holes last week and that win in Germany was aided by a strong beginning, as he carded a 5-under-par 68 to reach 2nd place in round one. 

Canter started well on his one-and-only European Masters start to date, firing a 68 to hit the top-20. He then shot an excellent 65 to finish in 16th place at the end of the week and if able to combine that low scoring here with his recent first-round form, he can occupy 1st place on the leaderboard on Thursday. 

Gavin Green 55/1 – 1/4 5 places – 0.75 pts ew 

Start time: 14:00 

Gavin Green has an encouraging record at Crans-sur-Sierre and as a top-30 round one performer this season, he can take the first-round lead this week. 

Green is going through a consistent run of form, making nine of his last 11 cuts and comes into this week after reaching the weekend in his last seven starts. He’s recorded two top-10s over that time, which came when finishing 5th in the Indian Open and 9th in last week’s British Masters. 

The Malaysian has had some excellent starts this season. He shot a 64 to tie the first-round lead in the Singapore Open, whilst rounds of 66 and 65 were enough to see him into 4th place after 18 holes in both the Scandinavian Mixed and four starts ago, in the Italian Open. 

This is something that Green has been able to transfer to this week’s course, shooting a 7-under 63 to share the first-round lead last year, whilst he also started well in 2019, firing a 65 to sit 6th. These quick starts have helped him develop a great record in the event, making 5/5 cuts and recording three finishes of 12th or better. With several other quality rounds to his name, including a 63 in round three on debut in 2018 and 64s recorded in 2019 and 2022, we have plenty of evidence as to his ability to go low here. 

Adrien Saddier 60/1 – 1/4 5 places – 0.75 pts ew 

Start time: 08:10 

Adrien Saddier has been in fine form over recent months, which has culminated in him recording two top-5 finishes on his two latest DP World Tour starts. Both of those finishes were made possible by swift beginnings and possessing a good record at Crans, he looks a lively one for the first-round lead this week. 

Saddier has missed just two of his last 10 cuts and prior to those last two starts, he’d recorded three top-20s in his previous seven. He comfortably bettered those solid efforts at the Czech Masters three weeks ago, finishing 3rd and backed that performance up in the Danish Golf Championship a fortnight ago, finishing 5th. 

He opened with respective rounds of 66 and 68 on those starts and this has very much been a theme of the last three months, as he ranks 14th in this field in round one performances over that period. 

Saddier made his European Masters debut in 2012, finishing 55th and has since gone on to make four of his next five cuts in the event, recording a best of 7th in 2021. He’s opened with a 2-under 68 in each of his last three starts here and with four rounds of 65 in the last three years to his name, there is plenty of reason to believe he can start strongly on Thursday. 

Francesco Laporta 100/1 – 1/4 5 places – 0.5 pts ew 

Start time: 09:20 

Francesco Laporta has found some improved form over his last trio of starts and as a player who has been starting quickly for much of the year, he can take the first-round lead at a three-figure price. 

Laporta was struggling for consistency earlier in the year but enters this week having recorded finishes of 12th in the Czech Masters, 27th in the Danish Golf Championship and 39th in last week’s British Masters on his last three starts. During which time his accurate driving and capability of getting hot in approach have served him well. 

He’s began solidly in each of those starts and that has been a common occurrence of his 2024 campaign, with the Italian ranking 20th in round one performances in this field, both over the last three and six month time periods. He looked especially good in the ISCO Championship five starts ago, shooting a 7-under 65 to sit 4th after round one and two starts prior to that a 5-under 66 took him to 6th after round one of his national championship. 

Laporta missed the cut on his Crans debut in 2021 but was hugely improved in 2022, finishing 16th. He shot rounds of 64 and 66 last year, with the 64 tying the low round of the final day. Showing that he has the game to score well here.  

Maximilian Kieffer 100/1 – 1/4 5 places – 0.5 pts ew 

Start time: 13:10 

Max Kieffer completes the first-round leader selections this week. We were on the German at The Belfry last time out and though he underperformed in the first round there, his game looked good for the rest of the week and tempted me into giving him another shot in this market. Especially seems he’s no stranger to leading after 18 holes in the Swiss Alps. 

Kieffer’s form has been in-and-out for most of the year, but he does appear to have found a little consistency over his most recent starts, making three of his last four cuts. He particularly impressed when finishing 21st in an elite Scottish Open field four starts ago. 

That performance was initiated by an excellent start, as he shot a 64 to sit 3rd after round one and following another top-20 first-round performance in the Barracuda Championship, he went one better than that effort in Scotland, opening with a 7-under 65 to hit T2 after day one of the Czech Masters. 

Kieffer made a commendable start on debut at Crans in 2013, shooting 3-under to sit 12th after the first round, before eventually finishing 13th. However, his best ever start came six years ago in 2018 – which was curiously his last start at the course – as a 6-under 64 took him to the first-round lead. These experiences should be valuable as he returns to the venue and can help him make a promising start in the European Masters this week.  

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