DP World Tour Championship Tips: Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm looking to shine
- Brendan Skilling
- 17 November 2022
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are strongly fancied to to go toe-to-toe at this weekend's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, as they both look to add to their two previous wins in the desert.
The DP World Tour season draws to a close this week with its showpiece event, the Tour Championship.
A stellar field has assembled in Dubai to compete for a record prize fund of $10million, plus there's the added incentive for the European participants to pick up a sizable amount of Ryder Cup qualification points, with many already having one eye on making captain Luke Donald's team for Rome next September.
As befits an event of this stature, it's a limited field with no cut. The top 50 DP World Tour performers are here with the notable exceptions of defending champion Colin Morikawa, the Belgian Thomas Pieters and the injured Will Zalatoris. Despite these notable absences, there's still a top-heavy feel to the line-up with eight of the World's top 30 teeing it up.
The Earth Course at the Jumeirah Estate in Dubai once again hosts, as it has done since 2009, giving bettors plenty of course form to consider. Greg Norman designed the course specifically for this Championship andit is renowned for the conditioning of its Bermuda grass surfaces, while a variety of hazards await including water, sand and desert brush.
Ultimately, as the list of former winners shows, this is a ball-striker's course with an advantage for those who can fly it long and straight and take on the hazards from the tee.
It goes without saying that a good putting week will also be required. All the previous winners here ranked in the top 15 for putting stats. The greens are relatively 'flat' with larger undulations rather than more subtle breaks, adding to the advantage of those able to hit into the greens with shorter clubs.
When it comes to picking a winner, many will find it hard to look past the top of the betting. Both Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm only offer a general 100/30 and 5/1 respectively, have won here twice before and clearly have games ideally suited to the desert course. A dual forecast option should certainly be considered.
Due to the top-heavy nature of the betting, there's plenty of capable operators at larger than usual prices further down the order that could very well sneak into each way places. The likes of Frenchman Victor Perez, who is available at a general 70/1 chance is one of many who fit the bill.
