Niall Lyons has four selection in the Abu Dhabi Championship this week at Yas Links, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will be held at Yas Links, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
After two successful stagings of this fine event Yas Links continues as host for the Abu Dhabi Championship and for punters that is most welcome.
This venue is beginning to develop a profile of contenders and that is always beneficial to narrow the field of potential winners.
Pieters won the first renewal here having had a really good record in the region prior.
The runner up Cabrera Bellow is a winner of the Scottish Open on links and with the wind that blew that year it is of no surprise there were a couple of players with similar profile in contention.
Last year a former winner of the Dunhill Links Victor Perez won whilst another Scottish Open winner Min Woo Lee was runner up.
Alex Noren was another Scottish Open winner to make the top 5 whilst two former Open Champions Francesco Molinari and Padraig Harrington also posted top 5 finishes.
Three time winner of the Dunhill Links Tyrrell Hatton was tucked in behind in 7th last year so there are massive clues that links form translates comfortably to this layout in Abu Dhabi.
Below is a look at the stats of the top performers from the past two editions of this tournament.
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Tips
- 2.5pts each-way R.MacIntyre 22/1 (1/5 7) WilliamHill
- 2pts each-way Min Woo Lee 25/1 (1/5 7) WilliamHill, 888sport
- 1.5pts each-way T.Lawrence 33/1 (1/5 8) Coral, Ladbrokes
- 0.75pt each-way A.Rozner 90/1 (1/5 7) Paddypower
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Robert MacIntyre at 22/1 (Seven Places)
It's difficult to see this title being wrestled away from any of the game's elite so it looks prudent to include a couple in the staking plan.
Lowry was the first who jumped off the board given his links record and his touch on and around the greens but it's that very part of his game that worries me the most.
With greens relatively easy to hit here short game becomes a huge part of the equation and Lowry has been inconsistent in that department for most of the year.
His iron play has been his big strength and it's hard to believe his only victory came at the teams Zurich event given how impressive his irons have been.
His putter has let him down a fair bit, especially over the last couple of months and for that reason he is edged out in favour of Robert MacIntyre.
The Scot hasn't quite been on the same level as Lowry with his approach play all year but he has hit the ball tremendously well and the fact that he has killed it on the greens makes him a better betting proposition than Lowry at 6-8pts bigger in the market.
The Renaissance Club has been a fair pointer to form here over the last couple of years and MacIntyre landed a career victory there in July this year.
It has been a coming of age type season for Bob and it's a big positive heading into the next few weeks that his form didn't dip after that win in Scotland.
He has kept the pace going and it wouldn't surprise me should he threaten to win or indeed get over the line for a third victory this year in the next two weeks.
Short game looks a big part of the jigsaw here and given Bob's record on windy tests he looks every bit as equipped as those ahead of him in the market.
Min Woo Lee at 25/1 (Seven Places)
Min Woo Lee gets the nod here this week with a very similar profile to those I named in the introduction.
Having undoubtedly been an unlucky runner up here last year he has the added benefit of having won a Rolex event in Scotland back in 2021.
Being somewhat inconsistent with his irons his short game is usually the part of his game that sets him apart, however this has not been the case recently.
The silky touch with the putter has deserted him a little in recent months whilst his iron play has improved in the fall season.
I like this venue for him seeing approach play hasn't been too significant in the two previous renewals.
Perez ranked 48th in approach play when winning whilst Pieters ranked 23rd.
Instead it was the short game that made the difference with Pieters ranking 1st in Scrambling and Perez 5th in putting and 3rd around the greens.
If Min Woo reverts to type then he should have every chance of another bold bid here and it was this time of year in 2023 when he caught fire.
2pts each-way Min Woo Lee 25/1 (1/5 7) WilliamHill, 888sport
Thriston Lawrence at 33/1 (Eight Places)
Thriston Lawrence has won at a fair lick in the last couple of years and it's a testament to how far he has come in a short space of time that he holds such a place in the betting market in among some big names.
The South African won on the Sunshine Tour in August but has been unlucky not to add to his tally on the DPWT with four runner up finishes in 2024.
The most recent of those came at Wentworth in the BMW PGA where he mixed it with the best and lost out in a playoff to Horschel and McIlroy.
He was 2nd to one of the performances of the season when Niklas Norgaard won the British Masters.
His effort at Royal Troon is maybe most relevant given he traded favourite at one stage there during the final round.
It ended in a 4th placed finish but once again he showed he wasn't afraid to go up against some of the best golfers in the world.
His ball flight and low centre of gravity looks perfect for coastal conditions and with some of the most prestigious DPWT events already tucked away in his locker he will have every confidence he can win this should he be in the mix at the weekend.
Antoine Rozner at 90/1 (Seven Places)
We landed the place with Rozner a few weeks ago at the Genesis Championship and even though this is a much tougher task the 90/1 available looks worthy of a small bet.
The clues were there last time on a course that was exposed and we have to go in again with the same kind of thinking.
A top 20 in an Open Championship, a top 5 in the Dunhill Links as well as wins in Qatar, Mauritius and Dubai are all relevant and Rozner has become somewhat of a specialist on these types of tests.
His iron play was spectacular in Japan and only the putter held him back there.
That has been the story of the year and almost similar to Min Woo Lee I'm counting on him finding some overdue form with that club.
