The final round of the KLM Open should be a cracker on a windswept golf course in Amsterdam. Ben Coley looks ahead to it with his preview.
Golf betting tips: KLM Open final round
1.5pts Oliver Lindell to win the KLM Open at 9/1 (General)
1pt Maximilian Steinlechner to win the KLM Open at 14/1 (General)
Golf is the most curious of sports and we've an encapsulation of that in the KLM Open, which is seemingly being played in the garden of the airport next door. Sponsors KLM being an airline, is this what the people on the internet would call brandmaxxing? It's certainly added a dimension to coverage, an annoying dimension, and it was fun to hear an aggravated Mark Roe bemoan it during Saturday's coverage.
Beneath the jets, which Roe also sharply confirmed to a colleague are not in fact flying low enough to be struck by a golf ball, lies a leaderboard of mixed messages. There is form, courtesy of Eugenio Chacarra, but few would've said this breezy, links-like test would favour the Spaniard. There is obvious suitability, courtesy of Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg, but in seven starts since March he's without a top 50.
These are two very different players seeking their second DP World Tour wins, but they're not without similarities. Fundamentally, both hit quality approach shots and controlling those in the wind is so often key. That helps explain with Marcus Armitage is their closest pursuer and why, among those in the next wave, OLIVER LINDELL looks the most dangerous. All four of these have form at Doha, where it usually blows.
There's another, unwelcome similarity between Chacarra and Soderberg (and Armitage too), and again it's a bit curious. Soderberg's previous win came against Rory McIlroy in a five-man play-off, yet when leading by eight shots in front of home crowds in the 2024 Scandinavian Mix, he imploded. Chacarra's was in the Indian Open last year, yet when long odds-on to repeat it, he came home in 39 to surrender a big lead too.
These things aren't equal – Soderberg threw it away, Chacarra opened the door for someone to break through – and while I'm sort of trying to say that things like 'bottle' are very fluid, there's no escaping the fact that Soderberg looks shaky. That was true of the back-nine on Saturday and when he gave a dry-throated interview afterwards, whereas Chacarra has been talking a good game all year. He's the man to beat.
That said, there is a slight sense that the LIV defector, intent on getting to the PGA Tour as soon as possible, is putting a lot of pressure on himself. Given that his is a swing of moving parts, that links-style golf still wouldn't be what you'd call optimal, and that we've a forecast which suggests a good breeze throughout the final round, it may be that the leaders prove vulnerable to a diverse and capable chasing pack.
Among it, Armitage confounds me and that makes it challenging to offer a fair assessment of his prospects. Conditions are definitely fine and his game is in excellent shape, but the one time he's played poorly of late was when selected on these pages, with seemingly so much in his favour. That's a bit of a theme on the few occasions I've sided with the likeable Englishman and I've become a bit wary of him, truth be told.
With Armitage in the final group after organisers elected to stick with three-balls, perhaps things are set up for Lindell to deliver the win his play merits. It would be the first of note in his professional career so he has something to prove, but being in the position of predator ought to help and it was from a similar one that he powered to the front in the Qatar Masters earlier this year.
Lindell stumbled with a couple of clumsy three-putts back then but he was going toe-to-toe with Patrick Reed and can be excused for letting the situation get to him. It's the type of experience he really ought to be able to draw from and this looks a good place to do so, having played well for three of the four rounds on debut and three more rounds so far this week.
A supreme iron player who is very good around the greens, Lindell has the two key skills needed for a windy day on an exposed golf course and his streaky nature is no bad thing when we're asking for someone to get after this scoreable front-nine. Again, there are parallels with Doha, where you have to hang on a bit after the turn; hopefully, as there, he can be in position to face that question again.
The other two of interest are MAXIMILIAN STEINLECHNER and Angel Ayora and with a shot in hand over the latter, it's Steinlechner who has to be preferred at the same price.
Ayora has played beautifully over the last two rounds bar a bad mistake at the toughest hole on the course and he is dangerous, but we've seen again that missed greens can cause him big problems and he's no certainty to keep putting as well as he has.
Steinlechner, who was selected on these pages when seventh last week, leads the field in scrambling and looks to have drawn real confidence from the way he played on home soil. He's driving the ball beautifully and three bogeys in three rounds in these conditions is ridiculously good.
He's won at every level so far and from just two behind, 14/1 looks a good price. Hopefully, he and Lindell can egg each other on a bit from the penultimate group and take advantage of any mistakes in front.
Lindell is the preferred choice for those who'd rather get off the fence but 5/1 to stay on it and have both on-side is the way I'll go.
Posted at 17:40 BST on 06/06/26
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