Golf
DP World Tour Championship preview: Danes look a Great bet
The DP World Tour reaches its climax this week as the top 50 players remain in the Middle East for the DP World Tour Championship.
Our return to the DP World Tour was a positive one last week as Tyrrell Hatton (13/2) narrowly missed out on another victory, finishing second, two shots back from the eventual winner, Paul Waring.
We once again go against Rory McIlroy, which is always dangerous on the Tour where he’s been so successful, with two Danish players who still have something to play for and could go well at the Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth course.
Thorbjørn Olesen 20/1
Thorbjørn Olesen is the first of our two Danes and he will have money on his mind heading to Dubai, with a finish in the Race to Dubai top 10 still very much on the cards. The top 10 get their share of the $6,000,000 bonus pool, with 10th landing $150,000.
That alone will be great motivation and the golf he’s been playing this year suggests he has all the tools required to sneak into the top 10. He was in action at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, playing brilliantly to finish T3, and we’re hoping he can continue that form.
He sits eighth in the market here at 20/1 and that price looks tempting given the class he showed last week. The Earth Course at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates offers up a stern, Greg Norman-designed test, and looks to play to Olesen’s strengths. Stretching 7,735 yards, this par-72 offers opportunities for low scoring, whilst water hazards keep the players honest throughout.
His driving is not a strong point, but he more than makes up for that on the greens. Drive for show, putt for dough, is what they say and that could ring true for Olesen if he is to land his share of the $6,000,000 bonus pool. A finish in the 6 places available with William Hill could be enough to get him over the line, but he won’t want to rely on anyone else and will have his sights firmly set on victory.
Rasmus Højgaard 22/1
Our second Danish selection comes in the form of Rasmus Højgaard and, if we’re being honest, it’s somewhat surprising to see him at a bigger price than Olesen, as he sits one place behind his fellow countryman in the market at 22/1.
Course form is certainly no concern for the man who finished T11 here last year, with McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland all in action there, whilst he goes up against a much weaker field this time around.
He is very much at home when playing in the Middle East, as he showed earlier this year when he began his season with five consecutive starts in the region. His worst finish in those five outings was T11, with a runner-up finish at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship his best effort.
He seems to have managed to put his mid-season woes behind him and a full-time return to the DP World Tour seems to have been the right decision and his fourth-placed finish at the Andalucia Masters was particularly impressive.
Højgaard currently sits third in the Race to Dubai standings and whilst McIlroy is too far out in front, he still needs to either solidify his third-placed status or even move up into second, which would see his bonus pool earnings boosted from $750,000 to $1,000,000.
A finish in the 6 places available with William Hill would likely solidify his spot and would also return nicely given his somewhat inflated odds, but with a title defence on his mind he’ll be hoping to go back-to-back.
