Sport
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship preview: Hovland the pick for season opener
The first tournament of 2022 on the newly named DP World Tour looks a real cracker as the likes of Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland tee it up at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Some stellar names on show, then, and here’s our look ahead.
Classy McIlroy and Morikawa not easily passed over
Any tournament where both Collin Morikawa (15/2) and Rory McIlroy (8/1) are in the field is one worth tuning in for and it’s clear both have outstanding claims here. McIlroy’s record in this tournament is incredibly impressive with nine top five finishes in 11 appearances and it’s quite surprising he hasn’t managed to get his name on the trophy. The only issue with Rory this week is that all of those performances came at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club and for the first time the tournament has changed venues to Yas Links. Clearly the new layout presents a different challenge to the previous one and with winds expect to blow to speeds of 35mph, it could be a tough test. Rory is a more than capable wind player and he’s likely to go well, but he’s perhaps a tad short considering this is his first outing of the year.
Of the two, Morikawa is slightly easier to fancy given he comes into this off the back of a solid tie for fifth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. He was never really in contention there but finished with a closing 62 and that should leave him spot on for this. He also has the added motivation of knowing a win here could see him claim the world number one ranking for the first time and given that proved a hinderance at the back end of last year, he’ll be keen to show he can handle the pressure of being the world’s best player. He’s obviously the reigning Open winner, so links golf comes naturally to him and he really is the one to beat.
Hovland can show he’s one of the world’s best
While both Morikawa and McIlroy are the rightful market leaders, it’s the third in the betting, Viktor Hovland, who gets the headline vote at 10/1. Like Morikawa, the Norwegian comes into this after playing at the Tournament of Champions and while a tie for 30th doesn’t read particularly well on the face of it, his lowly finish was largely down to a third round 73, which, at a course like the Plantation Course, is giving up at least six shots to the field. First starts of the season are always a bit of an enigma and given Hovland won his last two starts prior to that, it’s a performance that can be overlooked.
Those two victories came at Mayakoba and Albany – both courses where the wind blows – and this looks a really good opportunity for Hovland to prove he’s one of the world’s best players. He did miss the cut in this event in 2020, but that was his first start of the campaign and as mentioned, he seems a player that needs a tournament to find his game. He has finished third in Dubai and sixth in Saudi Arabia, so has form in this part of the world and looks the best bet at the top of the market.
Further down the betting, it could be worth keeping an eye on Matthias Schwab at 66/1. He showed bits and pieces of form at the back end of 2021 and has played well in this event before.
