The final tournament in the Race for Dubai begins this week where Europe’s top-60 golfers do battle at Jumeirah Golf Estate in the hope to end the European Tour campaign on a high.
The ‘Moliwood’ duo from Europe’s Ryder Cup win – Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood – are currently first and second in the Race to Dubai rankings and Fleetwood has it all to do to retain his Race to Dubai crown.
Whether the duo can produce their best in the season-ending event remains to be seen, and here our golf expert runs through the best bets ahead of the tournament.
Old Guard returning to form
Some of the European Tour stalwarts have tasted success recently, with Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood all notching up victories over the past month or so.
Westwood comes into this event inside the Race to Dubai top-20 after his Nedbank Challenge victory in South Africa – his first victory in over four years.
Producing back-to-back wins on the Tour is almost impossible and whether he can focus so soon following such a high is a tough one. A place in the top-10 would be a great achievement and at 5/2 I believe the Englishman could achieve that feat.
McIlroy loves Dubai
Rory McIlroy hasn’t had the season that he hoped for, and besides his success with Europe at the Ryder Cup and a victory in America, it’s been a disappointing campaign for the Northern Irishman.
He does have a liking of this event though, and the three-time Race to Dubai winner has picked up two victories on this course in 2012 and 2015, and on that form, he has a chance, but based on his recent showings I am prepared to leave him out at a skinny 8/1.
Fitzpatrick and Detry to go well
Matthew Fitzpatrick is a previous winner in Dubai and has enjoyed a good season despite the disappointment of missing out on a place in the Ryder Cup squad.
He doesn’t have the power off the tee, but he has the consistency to hit most fairways and that should bode well in Dubai once again and he should go well at 33/1.
Thomas Detry is another I like the look of. The Belgian goes into the event on the back of a seventh-place finish in South Africa last time out, which followed a tied-third in the Turkish Open.
Unlike many of the market principles, he’s in great form and he looks a big price at 50/1.
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