Saudi International - Winner

We enter the third year of the Saudi International and with the purse strings well and truly loose we always see a spectacular field for what is sure to become a regular on the tour in the years to come. It has already provided two fascinating encounters with the power game of Dustin Johnson winning in 2019 and the slightly more nuanced game of Graeme McDowell being enough to take the spoils last year. Both years' leaderboard have been littered with big hitters though and although last year was a slightly trickier affair we'd probably favour the power golfers when looking at potential winners. 

Bryson DeChambeau at 8/1

There is no better place to start but with the mightiest hitter in the field Bryson Dechambeau. The US Open champion shot four rounds in the 60s here on his sole appearance two years ago to finish 6th. Alongside Dustin he is the most equipped golfer in the field to take advantage of the short track here and his bombs away approach should pay dividends throughout the week. In his only appearance of the year so far at the Sentry he played very average stuff on route to finishing 7th in the high quality field. This is what draws me to Bryson these days more than anything else. Like Liverpool or City not playing well but grinding results towards titles, Bryson is similar in the way that he will contend even when not playing well. When he plays well he can blitz fields like he did at Winged Foot. You may say you get paid the same money should he win by 1 or 6, but the juice you get when you back him these days is that you don't need him to be on top of his game to give you a run for your money. If he does arrive in fine form then you can guarantee his price will take a fair reset compared to the field. All departments bar the driver let him down at the Sentry and I expect a fair improvement from there which should give him a huge chance to win this event. 

4pts WIN B.Dechambeau 8/1

Bryson DeChambeau - 4pts @ 8/1

Abraham Ancer at 28/1 (7 places)

We would need more years of this event being played out to have concrete evidence of the type of game needed to succeed. It certainly favours longer hitters on the evidence to date but McDowell's win suggests there is more than one way to skin a cat here. With that in mind I am keen to have Abraham Ancer on side. The Mexican finished brushed off the missed cut at the Sony to finish 5th at the Amex the following week. He did that despite losing strokes to the field on and around the greens. That is a super effort and we saw last week how well Paul Casey's top ten form there at the Amex held up in Dubai. Ancer's game is much more similar to McDowell's than Dustin's but should a similar game have success here I think he is more than capable. Ancer has yet to put his best foot forward on the big two tours but recent success of fellow countryman Carlos Ortiz may inspire him. Ortiz won in Houston and lead going into the final day at Torrey. If I was honest I'd have hoped for a better price but 28/1 will have to do.

1pt each-way A.Ancer 28/1 (1/5 7)

Abraham Ancer - 1pt e/w @ 28/1

Shane Lowry at 50/1 (8 places)

Shane Lowry has the tools to succeed here especially given as the wind will play a part at some stage across the week. The putter deserted him last week on route to a top 30 in Dubai but it must be said the greens last week were in desperate shape and plenty struggled. He makes his way out towards 50/1 this week which looks a bit big despite the increase in class towards the top of the leaderboard. Lowry is well versed in challenging with the likes of Dustin down the years and should he get into contention he is one of those around this price that shouldn't shirk the occasion if in battle with either of the two jollies. With plenty of par 4 and par 5s to attack here the game from inside 50 yards or so may become quite important and there is not many better than the Irishman in that department.

1pt each-way S.Lowry 50/1 (1/5 8)

Shane Lowry - 1pt e/w @ 50/1

Alex Levy at 125/1 (6 places)

Alex Levy has been brought to the layers' attention over the last weeks and understandably his price has diminished somewhat, but triple figures looks worth following in. The Frenchman has three top tens in his last six events and the top ten last week was worthy of note in a much stronger field. He ranked 3rd in Approach last week and 10th in the tee to green stats which look a perfect combination for the task here in Saudi. He is certainly playing above his average at the minute and given he can knock the ball a fair way off the tee I think he is worthy of consideration.

0.75pt each-way A.Levy 125/1 (1/5 6)

Alex Levy - 0.75pts e/w @ 125/1

Joost Luiten at 125/1 (8 places)

Finally I'll take a flyer on Joost Luiten. The Dutchman has made four of his last four cuts and showed enough form towards the end of last year to suggest some better form could be around the corner. He finished 11th in Ireland, inside the top 20 at the Rolex Scottish and 10th in Italy. 11th followed at the South African Open also. Two made cuts in the first two events this year show he isn't playing too badly. He finished 6th here two years ago and also has a win in Oman so the 125/1 looks slightly inflated.

0.75pt each-way J.Luiten 125/1 (1/5 8)

Joost Luiten - 0.75pts e/w @ 125/1