Genworth Stats Pack - Tournament Preview

Six-time European Tour winner Simon Dyson is the marquee name this week and he arrives having competed at St Omer twice before (in 2003/04). The 35 year old Englishman has struggled a little with his form this year in comparison to his usual high standards, with a low round of 69 up until last week in Austria (he carded a first round 66 to break that). Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, Simon seems to be hitting the ball well from tee to green (ranking 30th for Greens in Regulation), but he ranks quite low in each of the putting categories. Perhaps he is simply missing some momentum. Signs are that a big week may be just around the corner though.

Brooks Koepka currently sits aloft at the top of the 2013 Challenge Tour Rankings and he arrives to compete in this event for the first time this week. The 23 year old talent from the United States already has three European Challenge Tour titles under his belt (two this year) and his career is moving very much in the right direction. His Genworth Season Statistics highlight a 69.10 Stroke Average with lots of Birdies per Round and excellent scoring across the different hole types (being the Par 3’s / Par 4’s / Par 5’s). Brooks is most definitely the man in form with a superb run of recent results. He is arguably the pre-tournament favourite.

Two-time European Challenge Tour winner Mark Tullo has competed in this event on three previous occasions, with a best of 11th last year. The 35 year old golfer from Chile is progressing well this season with two top 5 finishes in European Tour events (placing him 101st on the Race to Dubai). Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, Mark is performing pretty consistently across the board with no real weaknesses in his game. We look for him to go well.

François Calmels returns to home soil to compete at St Omer for the 7th time this week, off the back of his second Challenge Tour win of the year (last week in the Czech Republic). Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, the 31 year old golfer from France ranks high for both Eagles per Round and Birdies per Round, plus he currently holds a Par 5 Scoring Average of 4.47 and an overall Stroke Average of 69.60. Back to back victories may well be on the cards.

One-time European Tour winner and two-time European Challenge Tour winner Rhys Davies arrives to compete in this event for the first time this week. He is playing with a lower category this year after finishing an unexpected 121st on the Race to Dubai in 2012 and has therefore had to split his schedule between the two tours. But the 28 year old Welsh talent has produced a few decent finishes of late (5th in Madeira and 21st in Sweden) and there are signs of the form that propelled him to 18th in the Race to Dubai back in 2010.

Dawie Van Der Walt arrives to compete in this event for the first time this week having had a most peculiar year of golf. The 30 year old South African has only made one cut on the European Tour so far, but in making that one cut he actually went on to win the tournament (the Tshwane Open). His Genworth Season Statistics show that he is averaging over 70% for Greens in Regulation which is actually very solid, so a good week on the greens may be all that is needed.

Having finished 126th on the Race to Dubai in 2012, this will be Shiv Kapur’s sixth European Tour event of the season. He arrives in steady form off the back of some good results, including a 10th place finish in Austria last week and also a Challenge Tour victory back in February. Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, the 31 year old golfer from India ranks high for both Driving Accuracy and Greens in Regulation, so his game looks to be in good enough shape to contend and perhaps even take the title this week.

Jamie Elson has perhaps the most consistent record over the St Omer course in recent years (36th in 2012 / 12th in 2011 / 2nd in 2010) so we are giving him a wildcard mention this week. After finishing 124th on the 2012 Race to Dubai, the 32 year old Englishman is another one of those players in Category 12 with a schedule somewhat in limbo. But he could well be a dark horse here.