Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 2024: Course and current form stats

• Lots of water and sand on rolling links-style layout

• Rasmus 20/121.00 enjoys strong Middle East history

• Don't overlook Niemann 9/110.00 in Abu Dhabi

Tournament and Course Notes

• Just two tournaments remain on this season's DP World Tour calendar and both are big money events in the Middle East. First up is the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links, followed by the traditional finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. These two tournaments also bring the curtain down on this year's five-event Rolex Series, with more than £14m of prize money on offer during the next couple of weeks;

• The Abu Dhabi Championship has a restricted field size of 70, taken from current positions in the Race to Dubai standings. After that, this number is whittled down to the top 50 for the concluding DP World Tour Championship over Jumeirah's Earth Course;

• Yas Links is a spectacular course which was opened in March 2010 and has been described as the 'first true links course in the Middle East'. Approximately 1.8 million cubic metres of material was dredged and contoured to create this rolling links venue on Yas Island;

• Yas Links, which is hosting its third 'European Tour' event, is located close to the motor racing circuit that has staged Formula One's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009. The 'Championship Links', as the course is known locally, is located on the west shores of Yas Island;

• As is typical of venues in desert environments, there are plenty of official, as well as unofficial, sandy hazards dotted around its layout. Water comes into play on nine holes, with a number of tee shots needing to be launched over Al Raha Creek.

Click here for latest betting on ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP

Good Current Form

Three players that enjoy both decent current form, as well as a strong history in this part of the world, are Rasmus Hojgaard 20/121.00, Rory McIlroy 9/25.50 and Tommy Fleetwood 17/29.50.

Hojgaard is close to securing his playing rights on next year's PGA Tour where he will join his twin brother Nicolai.

His last six starts in tournaments staged in the Middle East have all yielded top-12 finishes.

Meanwhile, three of Fleetwood's seven 'European Tour' victories have happened on the Arabian Peninsula including this year's Dubai Invitational.

The world No 10 has been in strong form since claiming his Olympic silver medal at the start of August.

As for McIlroy, he's won six events in the United Arab Emirates.

And watch out for Joaquin Niemann 9/110.00, who has enjoyed an excellent year on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour.

In addition to his two victories, there were four other podium finishes from 13 starts.

He ended the year second in the overall standings which was topped by Jon Rahm

Betfair Sportsbook

Good Course Form

Course data is fairly limited for Yas Links which has only hosted two DP World Tour events during its 14-year existence.

However, two players teeing-up this week have each posted a brace of top-10s at the course. They are Tyrrell Hatton 13/27.50 and Shubhankar Sharma 100/1101.00.

Hatton triumphed at St Andrews on his most recent start last month and, despite playing much of 2024 on the LIV Tour, the Englishman is a remarkably high No 21 in the world.

He ended the LIV season fourth in the overall standings, thanks to one victory and five other top-five finishes.

And if you are looking for a higher-priced each-way selection, then Jeff Winther 90/191.00 might fit the bill.

The Dane was runner-up at last month's French Open and, in two previous visits to Yas Links, has posted finishes of 17-6.

Middle East Form

Most T-12s on Arabian Peninsula since January 1st, 2020
T12s
11: Rasmus Hojgaard
9: Adrian Meronk
8: Tommy Fleetwood
8: Tyrrell Hatton
8: Rory McIlroy
8: Antoine Rozner
6: Thorbjorn Olesen
6: Jordan Smith
5: Nicolai Hojgaard
5: Robert MacIntyre
5: Bernd Wiesberger
Only those competing this week are included in table.
Above list refers to DP World Tour events only

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

Check out more golf previews, tips and insight on Betting.Betfair.com