Preview
2023 KLM Open Tips
You can sign up for all our KLM Open picks and DP World Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.
Event Info
Starts: 25th May 2023
Course: Bernardus Golf, Netherlands
Par: 72
Length: 7,445 yards
2022 Champion: Victor Perez
Course Info
Designer: Kyle Phillips
Type of Course: Heathland
Used Since: 2021
Fairways: Wide
Rough: Heather and gorse await if too wide
Greens: Large
Water Hazard: Average
Par 5's: 4th, 7th, 12th and 18th.
Premium on: Accuracy
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
This event moved to May for last year's event for the first time.
Weather Forecast
Wind looks set to play a big part in this years event.
Thursday - Partly Sunny, Wind 19mh gusts of 35mph.
Friday - Partly Sunny, Wind 20mh gusts of 41mph.
Saturday - Partly Sunny, Wind 9mh gusts of 28mph.
Sunday - Partly Sunny, Wind 13mh gusts of 32mph.
KLM Open Trends
Favourites or Outsiders
The favourites dominated the leaderboard last year but we saw a massive shock in 2021 when Kristoffer Broberg won. The week after a major can always throw up a shock so outsiders should be chanced.
Correlating Courses
Designer, Kyle Phillips, has also designed Kingsbarns, Dundonald Links, Yas Links and The Grove. Links form is definitely preferred with those who have featured on the past two leaderboards having excellent Alfred Dunhill Links records.
The course website describes the course as "a Heathland golf course, which makes it accessible to any golfer. The numerous bunkers are laid out beautifully and the tricky water hazards seamlessly blend in with the background of dunes, heath and gorse."
Course form
The course was used for the first time in 2021 so we only have two years of course form to go on. Ryan Fox was the only player in the top three last year to have played the event in 2021 (where he finished 15th).
Recent form
The 2021 champion, Kristoffer Broberg, had no recent form to speak of. That was the case for last year's champion, Victor Perez, too. Don't be too disheartened if your favoured KLM Open pick hasn't had a strong finish in the past few weeks.
KLM Open Stats Analysis
SG: Off The Tee
The top three in 2022 were all inside the top 7 for SG: Off The Tee. That was a contrast with 2021 where only one of the top 3 on the leaderboard was inside the top 75 for SG: Off The Tee (last year's runner-up, Matti Schmid, was 2nd in this category with Kristoffer Broberg 76th and 3rd place finisher, Alejandro Canizares 126th).
Driving Distance
A similar story to SG: Off The Tee with all of last year's top 3 inside the top 20 for Driving Distance. Only Schmid was inside the top 5 in 2021, the other two in the top 3 were outside the top 65.
Driving Accuracy
None of last year's top 3 were in the top 45 for Driving Accuracy. In 2021, Schmid was inside the top 5 for Driving Accuracy but the other two in the top 3 were outside the top 50.
SG: Approach
Strangely, only Ryan Fox (8th SG: Approach) scored well in this category from last year's top three. Winner, Victor Perez, was 34th and Adrian Meronk was 74th. Two of the top three were in the top eight in this category in 2021. Odd man out was Kristoffer Broberg, who was 30th.
Greens in Regulation
Matti Schmid (5th) was the only one of last year's top 3 to be in the top 40 in this category in 2021. That was not the case in 2022 as all of the top three were inside the top 20 for Greens in Regulation!
SG: Putting
As you may have guessed, Kristoffer Broberg was superb on the greens on his way to victory in 2021. He topped the putting stats. That wasn't the case for last year's winner, Victor Perez, who was 56th in the putting stats.
KLM Open Course Quotes
"Really good golf course, I was kind of surprised how good it is to be honest. I know it has the same designed as Kingsbarns, so I have been told, and it certainly feels that way, links turf, which historically I have always liked, and it was enjoyable. The fairways were pretty wide, you’ve got to really dial in from there, so it does suit my game," Eddie Pepperell, 2022
"I guess you can (play creatively) but you can also play very aggressive out there, especially if you have a bit of carry then there are a lot of bunkers you can take out of play, and into the greens you can use a lot of slopes. I kind of like that as a visual from the fairway.” Rasmus Hojgaard, 2022
"It is definitely a different style, this is more linksy, firmer, I mean my hybrid is sometimes going 300 downwind, so that doesn’t happen over there (United States), I am happy to get 300 with driver over there sometimes. Slower greens with less break, so I have to be a bit more aggressive, so that has helped with the putting a bit." Matt Wallace, 2022
"I practice here a lot, it is one of the best practice facilities we have in Holland, so a lot of the top players –even the Belgian players Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters–and I think that will tell you how good this golf course is. It is a great design, it is in great shape and hopefully we have a great week." Joost Luiten, 2021
"Bernardus does feel like a home away from home. They have welcomed me ever since I first started coming here two years ago and have been happy for me to practice here and use the facilities which is nice.The course is amazing, so I am really excited to see what they do with everything this week. “All the Dutch pros play here and you can see why." Thomas Pieters, 2021
"The greens are very big but if you are on the wrong side you are going to three-putt all day, and then driving it, there is still a bit of room, but you have to drive it well and if you can fly it about 270 in the air it gets a lot wider, so I am trying to hit it hard this week." Martin Simonsen, 2021
"I found it really enjoyable, it’s got a real links feel to it. I play links golf at home, so I felt right at home." Niall Kearney, 2021
"I like the course a lot. If you play bad shots you will get in trouble but if you hit good shots you get plenty of chances, and that is how a course should play. If the wind picks up it is definitely going to be a bit trickier but it is great, especially the back nine, it’s nice for the eye as well." Max Kieffer, 2021
"It was good. I like this course a lot because if you can hit it far from the tee you can carry some bunkers 270 metres out, so I have been fortunate to do that, so it has been nice." Marcus Helligkilde, 2021
"The golf course is very flowing, there is not a lot of rough and quite a few fairways go into fairways, sort of like a Pinehurst vibe to it, and I really like it. It is a lot different to what we play and it is a good change. It feels quite linksy, the fairways do with the grass, and obviously when you get it in the fescue or whatever you want to call it, it is quite sandy beneath it, like a long bunker shot with some grass involved, so it doesn’t really affect it too much if you have a decent lie so I will be trying to keep it out of that stuff as much as possible." Sam Horsfield, 2021
2023 KLM Open Tips
You can sign up for all our KLM Open picks and DP World Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.