Following back-to-back events in South Africa, the European Tour will make the move to the Middle East with the action set to pick up beginning with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship this week. Some of the biggest names in the world will make their 2016 European Tour debut including, of course, the World No. 1 Jordan Spieth. He’ll be looking to pick up from where he left off on the other side of the world (coming off a win in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions) when he takes to the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Event Details
Event: 2016 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
Category: European
Date: January 21st – January 24th
Location: Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
This will be the 11th edition of this event and a look at the recent history of the tournament shows how wide open it has been. Last year, Gary Stal delivered in a big way with the best score we’ve ever seen at Abu Dhabi, but a field that is absolutely loaded at the top will do its best to make sure that he doesn’t win it again in 2016.
Last Five Winners
Year Champion Score
2015 – Gary Stal -19
2014 – Pablo Larrazabal -14
2013 – Jamie Donaldson -14
2012 – Robert Rock -13
2011 – Martin Kaymer -24
What To Know About The Course
The Abu Dhabi Golf Club has been in existence since 1998 and it is well known as a long, flat and heavily bunkered course. The rough is usually over-seeded with Rye grass. It isn’t an easy course by any means, but the renewal on the greens on holes two, four, 11 and 12 should help to a certain degree.
The Field
The field for this event is absolutely stacked – including two of the top golfers in the world in Spieth and Rory McIlroy. Those two will be the co-favorites, but they aren’t the only golfers worth keeping a close eye on as Henrik Stenson and Martin Kaymer will be back in action, both of whom are also golfers in the top six of the World Rankings. Last year’s winner, Gary Stal, will try to defend his title after edging out McIlroy by a stroke last year but that’s the only European Tour on his resume. He’s just one of four returning champions but he is considered a huge long shot to repeat at this year’s tournament.
In total, we’ll see eight former major champions in Abu Dhabi, including the likes of Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer, Darren Clarke, Trevor Immelman, Mike Weir and Paul Lawrie. There are also 87 European Tour winners with six players that have previously been No. 1 on the European Tour.
A Good Matchup To Bet
Rory McIlroy -160 over Rickie Fowler
McIlroy is listed as a co-favorite for this event for multiple reasons and one of the most important is the fact that he ranked No. 1 in Greens in Regulation last season. McIlroy finished as the runner-up here 12 months ago and his consistency will be key as he looks for the win. He might not have what it takes to edge out Spieth, but at the very least he should be able to beat out Fowler, who doesn’t offer much appeal from a betting perspective. He is still matched up with McIlroy for this event and is worth fading here.
Top Five Prediction
Jordan Spieth
Spieth is listed as the co-favorite and while McIlroy has the experience playing on the European Tour there is absolutely no reason to doubt Spieth after the fine form that he showed at Kapalua when he opened 2016 with a victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Spieth doesn’t have a single notable weakness and his incredible all-around game should help offset the fact that he isn’t very familiar with this course. He tends to play better when the competition is tougher, and that’s the case here. He’ll be challenged. There isn’t any reason to expect a drop off in his performance from a week ago, so look for him to deliver with at least a top-five finish at Abu Dhabi.
Odds To Win At Abu Dhabi
Rory McIlroy +405
Jordan Spieth +450
Rickie Fowler +1415
Henrik Stenson +1415
Branden Grace +1815
Martin Kaymer +1815
Danny Willett +3050
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3250
Ian Poulter +3250
Byeong Hun An +3250
Lee Westwood +3550
Victor Dubuisson +3550
Andy Sullivan +4050
Thongchai Jaidee +5500
Thomas Pieters +4550
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +5500
Bernd Wiesberger +4050
Chris Wood +6550
Joost Luiten +6550
Ross Fisher +6550
George Coetzee +6550
Russell Knox +6550
Thorbjorn Olesen +7050
Brandon Stone +7550
Lucas Bjerregaard +8550
Bryson DeChambeau +8550
Rafael Cabrera Bello +8550
Peter Uihlein +9050
Kristoffer Broberg +9050
Anthony Wall +9050
