Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 21 May 2008 /

TQ has gone through the odds for the European Tour's flagship event and two names stand out. But who are they? Read on

You will not find a better field assembled for a European Tour event than you have got at this week's BMW PGA Championship. It is a star studded affair for what is one of Europe's flagship tournaments and one of the most eagerly awaited contests of the year.

At 7,320 yards the Wentworth course is pretty long and testing. It very much depends on the weather conditions as to how easily the course will play. If there is much wind about then it becomes a really tricky proposition. Last year the tournament was played in pretty miserable conditions and that is reflected in the winning score of just eight under par. Recent reports suggest that the course is in good condition and I fully expect a winning total of more like 12 or 13 under this week.

With such a top class field on display finding a winner initially appears to be a difficult task indeed. The first thing that is apparent when looking through recent winners of this event is the lack of big names, with Angel Cabrera and David Howell the only 'name' players to have won here in the last seven years. It is from that shortlist that my main pick of the week emerges. David Howell is on the comeback trail after a torrid year of injuries last season and has shown enough in the last few months to lead me to believe he is capable of winning here.

Howell won this event in 2006 in probably the best performance here for many a year. He took the high quality field apart to win by five shots. He will have good memories from that and now he is back playing good golf again it may well all come together for him at Wentworth this week. He is currently terrific value at odds of [110.0] in the Winner market and must be supported.

Strangely enough my back-up selection for the week also comes from that shortlist mentioned earlier! Angel Cabrera just loves it around Wentworth and rarely puts in a bad round. In addition to his win in 2005 he has also figured at the top of the leaderboard in both of the subsequent years. The big hitting Argentinean has a ready made game for this track and I am sure he will figure in the shake up again this week. He certainly merits a saver bet at current odds of [28.0].

There are plenty of markets available for this big tournament and one that catches my eye is the Top Nordic market. Henrik Stenson heads the market and seems a worthy favourite on a course that should suit him. However, it is another Swede that appeals. Rising star Alexander Noren has the kind of game that should see him be a multiple winner on the European Tour over the next couple of years. I can see him coming out best of the Nordic contingent this week and at odds of [26.0] he looks a decent bet.

A couple of weeks ago we had the Players' Championship in the US and in many ways this week is the European Tour's equivalent. All the top players show up for the Sawgrass event but it is well documented - despite the top field this week - that the current Open champion Padraig Harrington dislikes the course and won't turn up. They talk about the Players Champs becoming the fifth major; now I am not suggesting the PGA Champs should also suggest giving their own tournament a similar self-appointed accolade but it makes you wonder whether a certain Irishman would change his mind about taking part if they did.

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