Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2012 Winner – Odds and Betting Preview

ABU DHABI, UAE – The European Tour heads to the Middle East this week for the first of three events held in this region. The tournament organizers have amassed their strongest field ever as the top four in the World rankings tee up alongside Tiger Woods to compete for the $2,700,000 prize fund.  This will be the first outing for many of these high-profile players this year and they will have to quickly find their form in the desert sun.

Martin Kaymer will bid to win this event for the fourth time and has therefore been installed as the 13/2 favourite with Paddy Power. He has won in Abu Dhabi for the past two seasons and produced some great golf on this course to win by four shots in 2010 and a massive eight shot winning margin last year. Kaymer remodelled his swing following disappointing Masters in 2011 and began to hit form at the end of the year which suggests he has finally adapted to his new style.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy enjoyed a superb year in 2011 winning his maiden major title and he will hope to build on that in the coming months. He performed very well at this course last year finishing second behind Kaymer and is a standout 15/2 price with BetVictor to go one better this time around.

Tiger Woods will make his debut in this tournament as he was drawn to the Middle East thanks to a large appearance fee, rather than playing in his customary season opener on the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines. The 14-time Major Champion is always very short in the betting and can currently be backed at 9/1 with bet365. He won his own event at the Chevron Golf Challenge at the end of last year but that due to the restricted field at the end it is hard to judge whether the former world number one is back to his best.

The English pair of Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are both priced up at 14/1 with Ladbrokes and Betfred respectively. Donald was very consistent picking up the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic and is the biggest price of the World’s top four ranked golfers despite being the official number one. He has only played this course once, finishing in a tie for eleventh but his clean ball striking and accuracy off the tee may give him an advantage. Westwood does not have a great record at this event missing the cut on his first start and only managing 64th last year. He ended 2011 with two win out of his last three tournaments and so will fancy his chances after the winter break.

Sergio Garcia is an industry best price of 25/1 Skybet and he has been drawn to play alongside Westwood and Kaymer in the opening two rounds of the event. The Spaniard’s main aim this season will be to secure a place in the European Ryder Cup team and he can get off to the perfect start with a good performance this week, at a course he has not finished outside the top 20 in four starts. His putting has been a major area of concern in recent years but following back-to-back victories in Spain last October he seems to be more comfortable in his stroke on the greens.

Another player priced up at 25/1 with William Hill is Charl Schwartzel who comes into this event having competed in two tournaments in his native South Africa this month. This factor could give him an edge over the other players at the top of the betting and he has shown solid course form as he finished in a tie for eighth last year. He was ranked sixth in the greens in regulation statistic at the Volvo Golf Champions last week and his game should suit this course which will give him a great chance.

The form player on Tour currently is Brenden Grace who is a 50/1 chance and he is looking for his third consecutive win in 2012 this week. He will hope to build on the momentum he has generated in South Africa and will be full of confidence coming into this event.

A man who performs very well in this part of the world is Alvaro Quiros and the Spaniard is quoted at 33/1 with betinternet. He won the Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai World Championships last season which shows he can handle the pressure of playing against the world’s best in the heat of the UAE. He is yet to play competitive golf in 2012 and so may need time to find his best form but he will hope to build on last year’s results.

Selected others include: Jason Day at 35/1 with Skybet, Robert Karllson 55/1 with bet365 and Nicolas Colsaerts with bet365.

The first group tees off at 03.20 GMT on Thursday 26th January and punters can watch the action develop live on Sky Sports 2.

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2012  - Winner Odds