
The European Tour starts its two-tournament swing through the UAE with this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The 126-player field in Abu Dhabi is headlined by World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who also happens to be the tournament favorite. The 33-year old South Carolina native, fresh off a blowout win at Kapalua, is listed with 5-1 odds to win his second-straight title.
Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy is another favorite at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Coming off a winless year for the first time since 2008, McIlory is listed with odds of 8-1.
Also at 8-1 is Justin Rose, who finished 2017 on fire – winning three times in a six-start stretch, which additionally included a pair of top 5s and a top 10.
Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey, who helped lead Europe to a victory at last week’s EurAsia Cup, are both listed at 18-1.
Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, and Branden Grace, the runner-up at last weekend’d BMW SA Open, are at 20-1.
Tyrell Hatton (22-1), three-time tournament winner, Martin Kaymer (25-1), and Matt Kuchar (30-1) round out the top 10 players, according to the oddsmakers.
Our payoff pick this week is Chris Paisley at 150-1. The winner of last week’s South African Open, the Englishman is an easy pick to take a flyer on.
THE SKINNY
Tournament: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Dates: Jan. 18-21, 2018
TV Network: GOLF Channel
Course: Abu Dhabi Golf Club
Where: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Distance: 7,600 yards, Par 72
Architect: Peter Harradine
Field/Format: 126 players; 72-hole stroke; 36-hole cut
Purse: $2,700,000
Winning Share: $500,000
Race to Dubai Points: 421,000
Defending Champion: Tommy Fleetwood
Player | Odds |
---|---|
Dustin Johnson | 5-1 |
Rory McIlroy | 8-1 |
Justin Rose | 8-1 |
Henrik Stenson | 18-1 |
Paul Casey | 18-1 |
Branden Grace | 20-1 |
Tommy Fleetwood | 20-1 |
Tyrrell Hatton | 22-1 |
Martin Kaymer | 25-1 |
Matt Kuchar | 30-1 |
Matthew Fitzpatrick | 33-1 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello | 33-1 |
Thomas Pieters | 35-1 |
Bernd Wiesberger | 35-1 |
Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 45-1 |
Byeong Hun An | 55-1 |
Ross Fisher | 55-1 |
Haotong Li | 66-1 |
Bryson DeChambeau | 70-1 |
Thorbjorn Olesen | 70-1 |
Ian Poulter | 75-1 |
Dean Burmester | 80-1 |
Dylan Frittelli | 80-1 |
Joost Luiten | 80-1 |
Lee Westwood | 80-1 |
Graeme McDowell | 90-1 |
Paul Dunne | 90-1 |
Alexander Levy | 100-1 |
George Coetzee | 100-1 |
Pablo Larrazabal | 100-1 |
Eddie Pepperell | 125-1 |
Nicolas Colsaerts | 125-1 |
Renato Paratore | 125-1 |
Jamie Donaldson | 125-1 |
Alexander Bjork | 150-1 |
Andy Sullivan | 150-1 |
Chris Paisley | 150-1 |
Danny Willett | 150-1 |
Jordan Smith | 150-1 |
Shubhankar Sharma | 150-1 |
Scott Jamieson | 150-1 |
Chris Wood | 175-1 |
Hideto Tanihara | 175-1 |
Jeunghun Wang | 175-1 |
Nacho Elvira | 175-1 |
Richard Sterne | 175-1 |
Ryan Fox | 175-1 |
Soren Kjeldsen | 175-1 |
Romain Wattel | 175-1 |
Fabrizio Zanotti | 200-1 |
Haydn Porteous | 200-1 |
Jason Scrivener | 200-1 |
Jorge Campillo | 200-1 |
Matt Wallace | 200-1 |
Matthieu Pavon | 200-1 |
Robert Rock | 200-1 |
Scott Vincent | 200-1 |
Thomas Detry | 200-1 |
Wade Ormsby | 200-1 |
Andrew Johnston | 250-1 |
Brandon Stone | 250-1 |
Callum Shinkwin | 250-1 |
David Horsey | 250-1 |
Jacques Kruyswijk | 250-1 |
James Morrison | 250-1 |
Joakim Lagergren | 250-1 |
Lucas Bjerregaard | 250-1 |
Maximilian Kieffer | 250-1 |
Mike Lorenzo-Vera | 250-1 |
Phachara Khongwatmai | 250-1 |
Richie Ramsay | 250-1 |
Seungsu Han | 250-1 |
Thongchai Jaidee | 250-1 |
Matthew Southgate | 275-1 |
Nino Bertasio | 275-1 |
Scott Hend | 275-1 |
Ernie Els | 275-1 |
Alejandro Canizares | 300-1 |
Ashun Wu | 300-1 |
Austin Connelly | 300-1 |
Benjamin Hebert | 300-1 |
Chris Hanson | 300-1 |
Darren Fichardt | 300-1 |
Marc Warren | 300-1 |
Matteo Manassero | 300-1 |
Mikko Ilonen | 300-1 |
Oliver Fisher | 300-1 |
Paul Waring | 300-1 |
Richard Bland | 300-1 |
Stephen Gallacher | 300-1 |
Thomas Aiken | 300-1 |
Adrian Otaegui | 350-1 |
Andres Romero | 350-1 |
Andrew Dodt | 350-1 |
Anthony Wall | 350-1 |
David Drysdale | 350-1 |
David Lipsky | 350-1 |
Graeme Storm | 350-1 |
Gregory Bourdy | 350-1 |
Kristoffer Broberg | 350-1 |
Lee Slattery | 350-1 |
Marcel Siem | 350-1 |
Mikko Korhonen | 350-1 |
Ricardo Gouveia | 350-1 |
Alvaro Quiros | 400-1 |
Ashley Chesters | 400-1 |
Brett Rumford | 400-1 |
Daniel Brooks | 400-1 |
Edoardo Molinari | 400-1 |
Lasse Jensen | 400-1 |
Robert Karlsson | 400-1 |
Soomin Lee | 400-1 |
Thomas Bjorn | 400-1 |
Zander Lombard | 400-1 |
Carlos Pigem | 500-1 |
Daniel Im | 500-1 |
Gary Stal | 500-1 |
Gregory Havret | 500-1 |
Jason Norris | 500-1 |
Sam Brazel | 500-1 |
Harry Ellis | 750-1 |
Dan Kirkwood | 1000-1 |
Tom Buchanan | 1000-1 |
Trevor Immelman | 1000-1 |
Jose Maria Olazabal | 1500-1 |
Ahmed Al Musharrekh | 2500-1 |