The European Tour season ends this week with the DP World Tour Championship out in Dubai. At the end of the week not only will someone have won this tournament but the Race to Dubai title will have been settled too with four men all bidding to become the European number one for the season.
If one of Alex Noren, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson or Rory McIlroy win the title in Dubai they will automatically be the Race to Dubai winner and pocket some serious dosh. Any other winner opens up all sorts of mathematical equations which can be seen on the European Tour website.
Recent Winners
2015 – Rory McIlroy
2014 – Henrik Stenson
2013 – Henrik Stenson
2012 – Rory McIlroy
2011 – Alvaro Quiros
2010 – Robert Karlsson
2009 – Lee Westwood
The Course
The Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai is again the venue this week. As we’ve seen in the past this is a course which favours the longer hitters. In bare numbers the course is a par 72 which measures 7,675 yards although with the humidity of the desert it doesn’t play to that full yardage.
The fairways here are very wide hence the reason why the big hitters go well and the greens are massive too. If you miss them it isn’t easy to get up and down so finding the greens is essential to scoring well this week. This is always a low scoring event so we’re after longer hitters who pile in the birdies.
The Field
There are only 60 men in the field this week and they are the leading 60 players from the European Tour season. Former winners Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood tee it up this week while the other two Race to Dubai contenders Alex Noren and Danny Willett are here too.
Literally anyone who is anyone in Europe are here including the likes of Sergio Garcia, Bernd Wiesberger, Andy Sullivan, Francesco Molinari, Thomas Pieters and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Overseas stars such as Louis Oosthuizen and Byeong-Hun An also tee it up so this should be an extremely competitive tournament.
Market Leaders
Rory McIlroy has an exceptional record around this track so it is no surprise to see him as the 3/1 favourite but having not played any of the Final Series events I’m not rushing in on that price I have to say.
Henrik Stenson is a two time winner around here too and he is 11/2 for a third win. He hasn’t been completely solid in the Final Series so far but that doesn’t tend to mean much given the laid back demeanour of the Swede. He’s still a touch short in this company I think.
Alex Noren is a winning machine and in many ways it would be fitting if he wins here and nails the Race to Dubai title. Last week’s win was his fourth of the season and he is as big as 16/1 to follow it up with another here. I don’t like backing the winner of the week before but those who do back him know that he knows how to get it done.
Andy Sullivan chased home Rory McIlroy last year and he is 22/1 to go one better this year. If this was a weaker field I would be interested in Sullivan at that price and while I wouldn’t be completely surprised if he was to nail the title here given the strength of those alongside him he’s a touch short for me. Branden Grace is the same price but he’s definitely not for me. It is 25/1 bar those.
Main Bets
This should be a great tournament and you can make a case for so many players which is emphasised by the amount of players who are ranked 50/1 or shorter. I favour the longer hitters around here and there are two in particular that I’m interested in.
The first of those is Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen played well at Sun City for three rounds last week but couldn’t get it done on Sunday although nobody was beating Noren as it turned out. The South African’s record around here is pretty tasty with five top 15 finishes in seven outings. That record coupled with the form he showed last week makes him dangerous on a track which should really suit him.
Byeong-Hun An loves it in the desert and I see no reason why that isn’t going to continue this week. He recorded top five finishes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the beginning of the year and was fourth here last season. He recently cracked the top 10 in Turkey so we know he’s running well and with the quality he has off the tee he should be right in the mix again here.
Outsider
I’m going to have another go with Scott Hend. I’ve mentioned time and again that he loves it on courses where he can let rip off the tee and that is very much this one. We’re taking a leap of faith that he has put Sunday’s 80 behind him but he was in the top 10 in the other Dubai event at the start of the season and if he can zing the irons nicely he can outrun his price.
Tips
Back L.Oosthuizen to win DP World Tour Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back B-H.An to win DP World Tour Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back S.Hend to win DP World Tour Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
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