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Golf - Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. The first quality event of the season with a very strong field. The Abu Dhabi Golf Club is a long American style course with reasonably generous fairways, lots of water and bunkers. At 7500 yards it is an advantage to be long off the tee, but players like Jimenez and Di Marco have shown that accuracy into the greens is the more important factor. For many of the big name players this is the season opener and much of the form is recent rather than current. No doubt some will play well after a rest but others may just be a little rusty, but there is good prize money on offer and you have to suspect that players will be well prepared, especially those aspiring to win a place in the Ryder Cup team. 1 point e/w Lee Westwood @ 16/1 with Sunderlands (e/w 1-6) t2nd - won 3 points Westwood has no course form but it should suit him well and his recent form is excellent. In his last nine events in 2007 he had eight top ten finishes including a win and was in the payout zone on seven occasions (of course his only missed cut was when he was tipped here for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship). The key to his success was his accurate iron play and his year end ranking of second for GIR with 77% hints that he will go well here as it is the key to victory on this course. He is inside the top 25 for driving distance which is another plus on a long track. The worry his that he may be rusty and he does fail to convert many of his high finishes into wins, but in the hope that I haven’t cursed him again, he has all the credentials to go close. 1 point e/w Miguel Angel Jimenez @ 22/1 with Paddy Power (e/w 1-6) lost 2 points Miguel opened his 2008 season with a win in Hong Kong were his great GIR play set up plenty of birdie chances and he eventually overhauled Karlsson on the 72nd hole. The Spaniard clearly likes his golf in the Middle East with five top 10 finishes from seven starts including 5th and 2nd place finishes in this event. Last season he carried through his form from Hong Kong (6th) to be 2nd here after the Christmas break, so there are grounds to believe that he can go one better this year. 0.5 point e/w Robert Karlsson @ 33/1 with Sunderlands (e/w 1-6) lost 1 point After winning twice in 2006, Karlssons 2007 season was slightly disappointing having spent a spell in America with mixed results. However when he returned to the European Tour full time he finished year strongly with two runner places in Portugal and Hong Kong were a fluffed chip on the 18th cost him what looked a certain victory. The key to his scoring in Hong Kong was his course management. He had never made the cut there but decided to keep the driver in the bag and play for position. This course is a very different beast and he will be able to exploit his distance off the tee. His iron play good without being in the top drawer but he is an excellent putter who can take his chances when they arise. Hopefully his last hole collapse in Hong Kong will have been forgotten over the holidays and he can move towards his goal of making the Ryder Cup team. 5 points Soren Hansen to beat Mark Warren @ 1.70 with Unibet (tie no bet). won 3.50 points Warren has won twice in the last two years but he remains one of the worst iron players on tour and with GIR being so important here it is no wonder that that he has missed the cut on both occasions. He relies very heavily on his great putting and sometimes he can have great tournaments but he is just as likely to miss the cut (16 MC from 28 starts in 2007). Hansen had good 2007 accumulating lots of cash and a win. He is not a top class player but he beat Warren 13-5 in 2007 and their last five mutual events he won four with one tie. He has a 2-0 course record over the Scot and should grind out another steady performance. |
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