Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship – Tips

With the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship approaching at the latter end of the week, we preview this exciting golf tournament and give our top tips on where the value lies in the betting.Abu Dhabi Golf Betting Tips and Preview:The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship tees off this Thursday with the strongest field in the tournament’s history and there is huge excitement amongst the European Tour golf fans that wait with mounted expectation to see the world’s top four golfers battle it out with Tiger Woods over four rounds of golf at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates.He may have slipped down the world rankings but Tiger Woods 8/1 still has an enormous standing in the game of golf and despite his participation in this year’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championship coming at a cost for the European Tour (appearance fee reportedly in the region of $2.5 million) Tiger’s involvement in the opening event of the desert swing is a massive boost for the tournament sponsors and organisers, especially when you factor in that Woods has once again found his appetite for winning after he edged out his fellow countryman Zach Johnson by one stroke to win the Chevron World Challenge last December, albeit in a limited field.Even though he made the job of winning harder than necessary, Tiger played with great drive and purpose at the Chevron World Challenge. He has been hopelessly exposed on and off the golf course in recent years but his return to the winners circle at the back end of last year showed that Tiger Woods hasn’t lost any of his impetus and most of all it proved that Tiger has the determination not to allow his record-breaking major-title ambitions disappear into the distance.So with Woods making a drastic change to his golfing schedule by teeing up at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship this week, what should we expect from the former world number one golfer? Well three or four months ago few would have given Woods a chance against the current world number one golfer Luke Donald 14/1 or the in-form U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy 13/2 but after his recent resurgence Woods will relish the challenge and opportunity to once again assert himself on golf’s biggest stage and I don’t think any of us will be too surprised if the 14-time major winner announces his 2012 intentions with victory at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship but do bear in mind Woods is at a disadvantage because he hasn’t played the course previously.The Players: Joining Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald in the field this week is the three-time Abu Dhabi Golf Championship winner Martin Kaymer 11/2. The German golfer not only successfully defended his title last year but he chalked up an impressive score of -24 to go wire-to-wire and beat the aforementioned Rory McIlroy by a staggering 8 shots. Kaymer defends his Abu Dhabi crown this week fresh from victory at the WGC HSBC Champions event back in November and clearly looks the one to beat on a golf course that he unsurprisingly refers to as home.South African golfer Branden Grace 50/1 claimed his second European Tour title in seven days with a play-off victory at the Volvo Golf Champions last weekend and the recent qualifying school graduate arrives in Abu Dhabi looking to maintain his recent high standards along with his fellow countryman Charl Schwartzel 25/1, who has recorded 3 top 5 finishes in his last four starts. Also teeing up in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship this week is Lee Westwood 12/1. Ranked number two in the world and with over 20 European Tour victories to his name, Westwood brings with him vast experience of desert golf so expect plenty of finesse from the Englishman at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club this weekend.Another golfer with valuable desert golf experience is the big-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros 33/1. Victorious at the recent Dubai World Championship, Quiros has also claimed two other European Tour titles on the desert swing and with punters placing a huge emphasis on the golfers at the head of the betting, Quiros slips in under the radar at a working-man’s price and should be backed on a golf course that will suit every aspect of his game. Abu Dhabi’s championship course favours golfers that are long off the tee so like Quiros concentrate on big-hitters like Ross Fisher 80/1, Sergio Garcia 25/1, Robert Karlsson 50/1 and Peter Hanson 40/1 and don’t rule out fast-green putters like Paul Lawrie 150/1, Richard Green 80/1 and Padraig Harrington 40/1, who will be all suited by the course conditions.The Course The Pete Harradine-designed 7,600 yard par-72 championship course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club consists of over 90 bunkers and 7 water hazards and plays host to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship for the seventh consecutive year but unfortunately for the tournament hosts it could be the last following the news that next year’s event will be moving to a new venue.The championship course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club is a true ball-strikers course so expect to see golfers like Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood & K.J. Choi 33/1 play themselves in contention. All three are excellent off the tee and the accuracy of their approach shots will ensure they are putting for birdie on virtually every hole. Another golfer who falls into this category is Alexander Noren. The Swede is attractively priced at odds of 66/1 and shouldn’t be overlooked in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship betting.Abu Dhabi Golf Betting Tips:Along with Alexander Noren 66/1, here are this week’s European Tour tipsAlvaro Quiros – 33/1 Quiros’ driving distance gives him a slender advantage over most of the field this week but his biggest asset is his ability to play exceptional well on Pete Harradine-designed golf courses – massive chance.Paul Lawrie – 150/1 Second at the recent Dubai World Championship and backed it up with an impressive outing in last week’s Volvo Golf Champions. The Scot is a six-time European Tour winner who putts remarkably well on firm greens – huge priceThomas Bjorn – 80/1 The Dane hasn’t played to his best in his last five European Tour events but remember he was a three-time winner in 2011 and like Quiros, Thomas Bjorn excels on Pete Harradine-designed courses and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t get himself into contention on the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship leaderboard.