Abu Dhabi Championship Betting Tips: The Panel's 5 Selections From The Play-Offs
The DP World Tour reaches its climax in the Middle East over the next couple of weeks, kicking off at the Abu Dhabi Championship hosted by the Yas Links for the third successive year.
Betting sites make Rory McIlroy the 5/1 favourite to win this tournament where he has finished runner-up or third in five of the last six renewals but has never entered the winner’s circle.
Tommy Fleetwood and 2021 champion Tyrrell Hatton are both 9/1 and 15/2 respectively with SpreadEx to lift the trophy, while 2019 winner Shane Lowry is available at 14/1.
* Attention football fans, want to win back the cost of your season ticket? Enter our free competition below. A winner chosen every month this season.
There are plenty of water hazards at this par-72 links course where missing the generally wide but exposed fairways can lead to difficulties especially when it’s windy.
Seventy players are in action this week looking to ensure a place in the top 50 in the Race to Dubai Rankings which guarantees a place in next week’s finale at the DP World Tour Championship.
The Panel have made a profit in all five months since the column began in June and they hope to continue that run with these five Abu Dhabi Championship predictions.
Abu Dhabi Championship Betting Tips: Hop On Hojgaard
Nicolai Hojgaard squeezed into the top 70 with last week’s ninth place in South Korea to complete an excellent month for the Dane.
Hojgaard enjoyed top 20s at both the French Open and the Andalucia Masters which resulted in him overtaking his twin by one spot in the world rankings.
Obviously, Hojgaard will need another good week to ensure his place at the Earth Course and all the signs are there for him to produce his first win of the season.
Two of Hojgaard’s three victories on the tour have come in the UAE, the first at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in 2022 followed a year later by the biggest win of his career at the DP World Tour Championship.
Long-hitting Hojgaard should be able to take advantage of the generous fairways just as he did last year when a pair of closing 69s secured 10th spot thanks to a great four days tee to green.
Hojgaard missed the cut on his Yas Links debut in 2022 but that was in windy conditions and with the forecast set to be calm this week, Hojgaard can go well again at 40/1 with betting apps.
The Panel's Abu Dhabi Championship Prediction 1: Nicolai Hojgaard To Win (Each-Way) - 40/1 With Betfred (Five Places)
* To access all five selections below, simply sign up to Gambling.com for FREE.
Abu Dhabi Championship Betting Tips:
- Nicolai Hojgaard To Win (Each-Way) - 40/1 With Betfred (Five Places)
- Jordan Smith To Win (Each-Way) - 35/1 With Ladbrokes (Eight Places)
- Romain Langasque To Win (Each-Way) - 80/1 With William Hill (Seven Places)
- Jeff Winther Top 20 - 11/4 With Unibet
- Thorbjorn Olesen First-Round Leader (Each-Way) - 33/1 With Ladbrokes (Five Places)
Abu Dhabi Championship Odds: Side With In-Form Smith
BetVictor is also offering 40/1 on Jordan Smith to maintain his excellent run of form this week.
The 31-year-old Englishman has finished inside the top 20 in six of his last seven events and was fourth on his last outing, the Andalucia Masters.
Smith is playing in this tournament for the eighth successive year and although he missed the cut when it was played here in January 2023, he finished 12th in blustery conditions in the previous year.
The world number 88 features prominently in the Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and the Tee-to-Green metrics which should serve him well this week and next when he goes for the main prize.
The Panel's Abu Dhabi Championship Prediction 2: Jordan Smith To Win (Each-Way) - 35/1 With Ladbrokes (Eight Places)
Abu Dhabi Championship Preview: All Roads Lead To Romain
Romain Langasque is a handful of places below Smith in the world rankings, but is double the price with golf betting sites.
It’s been feast or fallow for the 29-year-old Frenchman lately, with four missed cuts mixed with two top 10s in his last seven tournaments.
A back injury sustained at the 152nd Open derailed a decent summer in which he finished runner-up at the Soudal Open in Belgium, ninth at the BMW International Open and then third at the Scottish Open in the following week.
The latter particularly stands out as that came on the links course of the Renaissance Club, so he may do well this week just as he did in his only visit here in 2022 when he closed with a 71 to finish 12th.
The number of sports with in-play betting available
Is there live streaming of sporting events?
The number of sports with in-play betting available
Is there live streaming of sporting events?
The number of sports with in-play betting available
Is there live streaming of sporting events?
Langasque shared seventh spot at the Andalucia Masters last time out and at 15th in the Race To Dubai rankings, the pressure is off to go for his first title at this level since the Wales Open four years ago.
The Panel considered whether to go with the 15/8 on offer for a top-20 finish, but instead went for 80/1 each-way with William Hill as the next of their Abu Dhabi Championship betting tips.
The Panel's Abu Dhabi Championship Prediction 3: Romain Langasque To Win (Each-Way) - 80/1 With William Hill (Seven Places)
Abu Dhabi Championship Predictions: Winther Wonderland
Followers of this column will remember The Panel picking Jeff Winther on a couple of occasions last month and although the Dane did not quite deliver a return, he is worth chancing again in the top-20 market.
Winther was just outside the top 10 at the halfway stage in southern Spain a couple of weeks ago only to let all his good work go to waste at the weekend.
In the previous week, Winther was runner-up at the French Open and he has performed well in both visits to Yas Links in the last two years.
Sixth on his debut in 2022, Winther fought back from an opening-round 73 last year with 68-66-70 between Friday and Sunday to finish inside the top 20.
Can you cash out of bets before an event has finished?
Can you cash out of bets before an event has finished?
Can you cash out of bets before an event has finished?
He is competing against a much tougher field this week than in 2023, but at least Jon Rahm has decided to skip the event.
On the negative side, he is not a long hitter and his SG: Tee-to-Green numbers aren’t great, but Victor Perez was fifth for the SG: Putting metric when he triumphed here last year and that’s an area where Winther has been strong all season
With that in mind, Winther looks well priced at 11/4 with Unibet for a top-20 finish in a 70-man field.
The Panel's Abu Dhabi Championship Prediction 4: Jeff Winther Top 20 - 11/4 With Unibet
Abu Dhabi Championship Tips: Lightning Start For Thunder Bear
Finally, The Panel are on board Thorbjorn Olesen to set the pace once again at 33/1 with Ladbrokes in the first-round leader market.
The Dane has been in excellent form recently and The Panel would not put anyone off taking the 25/1 available to follow up his win in the UAE back in January.
Instead, they favour Olesen to top the Thursday leaderboard just as he did at the French Open last month.
Olesen followed that up with 12th in the opening round in San Roque and looking back at his stats over the years, he generally shoots low on a Thursday in this tournament – standing 13th overall from the players in this field.
The Panel like the look of Olesen this week and are happy to take the 33/1 on him leading the way on Thursday as the last of their Abu Dhabi Championship predictions.
The Panel's Abu Dhabi Championship Prediction 5: Thorbjorn Olesen First-Round Leader (Each-Way) - 33/1 With Ladbrokes (Five Places)
Stay In The Loop With Free Bets, Insider Tips & More!
Live Betting. Sports Promos. Sent Weekly.
