47 tournaments have been and gone and the European Tour season will end with a potentially special 48th event as we crown the European number one.
That man will be crowned at the annual season ending DP World Championship in Dubai. As well as this being a tournament in its own right the Race to Dubai title will run alongside it with Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett in control of their own destiny and fighting it out at the top.
They’re not the only ones who can win the Race to Dubai title though. Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Byeong-Hun An all head to the Emirates looking to be crowned numero uno in Europe.
Those five all need to win or come second and hope that McIlroy and Willett are far enough down the field that they don’t stay ahead of them in the overall rankings so with that competition a sideshow to the tournament 60 men are here for this should be a dramatic week of golf.
Henrik Stenson is looking for a three-peat this week having won the DP World Championship for the last two years. He has owned Dubai recently and is 13/2 with Paddy Power to complete his hat-trick.
The Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates is again the venue for this tournament and it is a very long course. It is a par 72 which measures 7,675 yards and even though it is in the desert and the ball travels further the course plays long, so long in fact that shorter hitters are going to have a really tough time this week.
There isn’t really any punishment off the tee to contend with so players can just get it out there. The test comes going into the greens where some accuracy is required. There are large run offs around the green so a good short game is no bad thing but length and GIRs is the recipe for success around here.
Rory McIlroy missed last week but he is in the field this week and is a 5/1 favourite ahead of Stenson. Justin Rose comes third at 8/1 and then it is the man who was beaten in a playoff last week in the shape of Patrick Reed who comes fourth at 16/1. Branden Grace is 22/1 and it is 25/1 bar.
One man ticks literally every box this week so I’m surprised we can get him at 25/1. That is the Frenchman Victor Dubuisson. Dubuisson has finished in the top three in each of the last two years in this tournament and I’m not in any way shocked.
Dubuisson creams it miles off the tee, hits an awful lot of greens in regulation and when he does miss the greens he has a dream short game. Just for good measure he is a wonderful putter and he’s in fantastic form having won in Turkey recently.
I’m sure he needs no extra motivation to go well this week but it would be a great week for him to win in light of what has gone on in his homeland and Dubuisson is very much my main bet here.
I’m also going to side with another man who drives it miles off the tee in Byeong-Hun An. An has impressed everyone with his driving this term but he isn’t just a driver as he showed at the BMW PGA Championship earlier in the year.
He’s been showing all his class in recent times too having been fourth in Turkey and then third in China just last week. This is An’s first time in this tournament but I’m not so sure that is a huge negative as he hadn’t played Wentworth before and he scooted up there. He’s so good I’ll chance him this week.
I had to toss a coin for my third pick between Lucas Bjerregaard and Thomas Pieters and in the end I’m going with the Belgian as much for his bigger price as anything else.
Pieters is ultra-long off the tee although so is the Dane but I think where Pieters has the edge on his Danish challenger is on the greens. Pieters is one of the most underrated putters on the tour. He is seen as a monster hitter but nothing else and that isn’t quite the case. Both men are in great nick but Pieters gets the nod for me.
Stephen Gallacher has a wonderful record in the other Dubai event and although that form hasn’t always translated into good results here the fact he’s had a shocking 2015 might mean he’s fresh enough mentally to give this one a good go.
We know from his record in the Desert Swing events earlier in the year that he can play desert golf and although 2015 has been rotten there have been signs that since a change in coach midway through the year his game is slowly coming back. In conditions he thrives in I’ll pay to see how close he goes this week.
Back V.Dubuisson to win DP World Championship (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 26.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-5)
Back B-H.An to win DP World Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Paddy Power (1/4 1-5)
Back T.Pieters to win DP World Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back S.Gallacher to win DP World Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-5)
Blog golf YTD: +171.96pts
