Golf
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship preview: Hatton has a LIVe chance
After a week off on both circuits, we return with the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and the first of its two play-off events, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The Race to Dubai is the ultimate goal on the DP World Tour and has been won by Rory McIlroy for the past two years.
The Northern Irishman heads to Yas Links well out in front at the top of the leaderboard, but we’re looking at two others whom we believe could put in a good showing as they seek to climb the rankings.
Tyrrell Hatton 13/2
The first of our two-strong team in Abu Dhabi is LIV Golfer Tyrrell Hatton. Hatton has been largely out of the PGA and DP World Tour circuits since his move to LIV back in January, but he returns here with a strong chance.
With one eye on a potential Ryder Cup spot, Hatton is the 13/2 second-favourite here behind only Rory McIlroy. What’s for sure is that the Englishman will be at home in Abu Dhabi and the Yas Links course could play into his hands.
His Links form is better than most, coming here off the back of his victory at last month’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Last year’s winner, Victor Perez, was also a previous Alfred Dunhill champion which bodes well for Hatton. While it may not be the greatest indicator of success on the other Tours, his LIV form has also been good enough for us.
His putting average is particularly notable, ranking second on the Tour in that respect, whilst he also ranks second for birdies made which will certainly come in handy around this potentially low-scoring course.
The Englishman will want to continue to prove that he’s worthy of a spot in next year’s Ryder Cup team, and a finish in the 7 places available with William Hill certainly wouldn’t do any harm. However, for a man who will get fewer opportunities than those on the main Tours to showcase his talents ahead of Bethpage Black, a win here would certainly go a long way.
Min Woo Lee 25/1
2024 has been a mixed year for Australian sensation Min Woo Lee, for whom so many had such high hopes heading into the season. He is still yet to pick up that elusive PGA Tour win, but he’s come close at times and is still showing promising signs.
This has been his busiest year on the Tour so far, racking up 19 starts. Within those he’s managed two top-10 finishes, both of which saw him finish runner-up. The first of those came at the Cognizant Classic, where he finished three shots behind the eventual winner, Austin Eckroat, after scoring consistently well over the four days. Next was the Rocket Mortgage Classic where fellow Aussie Cam Davis beat him by one shot, an agonising way to miss out on your first victory.
He heads to Abu Dhabi as a 25/1-shot among a field that doesn’t look as though there are a whole lot of players in with a genuine chance of winning, but Min Woo certainly isn’t without a shot.
There’s no doubting the two near misses may have taken their toll, and it looks as though his putter is the club worst affected by those at the moment. So often his main weapon, a revival of the flatstick could see him back to something like his best, which would surely bring with it a finish inside the 7 places available at William Hill.
Lee’s last DP World Tour victory came in November last year at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, so here’s to hoping he doesn’t go a full year without getting his hands on some silverware.
