Paul Waring -24
Tyrrell Hatton -22
Rory McIlroy -21
Thorbjørn Olesen -21
Matt Wallace -21
Ugo Coussaud -20
Tommy Fleetwood -20
Thriston Lawrence -20
Antoine Rozner -20
Matthew Jordan -19
Tom McKibbin -19
Niklas Norgaard Moller -19
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The European Tour is back this week and pitches up at Yas Links for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and designed by one of my favourite golf course designers of the modern era Kyle Phillips, you can read my interview with Kyle by clicking here where we talk about the Yas Links project.
Yas Island is a multi-billion dollar project by Aldar and as Kyle told me in that interview the place was just blowing sand before they started and now it has its own mini eco system. Yas Links golf course, opened for play in 2010 and as well as the 18-hole golf course it also has a 9-hole academy course and a floodlit practice area.
This was Kyle’s first project in the Middle East and he was involved right from the outset when it was decided to shape nearly two miles of coastline, Phillips used almost 2 million cubic metres of the dredged sand to cap the golf course. There are some amazing views and eight of the holes – including three of the four short holes 8th, 13th and 17th – sit right on the waters edge. The course weighs in at a staggering 7,450 yards and has five teeing options on each hole.
Apart from the stunning par 3s, the 9th is probably the best par 4 where your tee shot has to carry the water on the right, it’s all risk and reward and the more distance you gain from the tee the shorter your approach shot is to a green. The 18th is a fitting finale to the course with the shoreline snaking along the left hand side of the fairway, with danger lurking all the way from tee to green.
No real surprise picking Rory McIlroy 19/4 – with SpreadEx– this week with him going for his sixth Harry Vardon Trophy and his third in a row
After winning his third Dunhill Links title Tyrrell Hatton 27/4 – with SpreadEx – should arrive here in buoyant mood. Tyrrell has two Top 10 finishes since the championship moved to Yas Links two years ago
Four Top 15 finishes in his last five starts including a runner-up at the Open de France shows that Thorbjørn Olesen 25/1 – with BetVictor – golf game is in great shape coming into these final two events of the season. Thorbjørn won on the desert swing earlier in the season at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and he will be looking to replicate that win in Adu Dhabi
Each-way tips:
It has been a great year for Niklas Nørgaard Møller 40/1 – with SkyBet – winning his first European Tour event and he also has a runner-up finish and three other Top 10 finishes
A previous winner on the European Tour Johannes Veerman 70/1 – with Bet365 – comes into this week on the back of three Top 15 finishes on the spin and will have a lot of confidence that he can push on and challenge this week.
