The climax to the DP World Tour season takes place in Dubai this week when, barring a terrible week, Rory McIlroy should win the old Order of Merit for the fourth time.
The Northern Irishman’s cause has been helped by the absence of three-time DP World Tour Championship winner Jon Rahm who has skipped the event following the birth of his daughter.
Betting sites make McIlroy the 4/1 favourite to win the tournament – not the Harry Vardon Trophy – for a third time, although Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are not too far behind at 13/2 and 8/1 respectively with Bet365.
The Panel like McIlroy’s chances this week, but are looking further down the field with their DP World Tour Championship predictions.
DP World Tour Championship Betting Tips: Hot Lawrence Can Shine In Desert
The top 50 eligible players in the Race to Dubai Rankings are competing at the very long Earth Course this week where driving distance and putting well on the large greens are likely to be the keys to success.
One player who fits the bill in both categories is Thriston Lawrence, McIlroy’s nearest challenger in the standings.
The South African has yet to win on the DP World Tour this year, but he went close when he faced McIlroy and Billy Horschel in a three-man play-off for the BMW PGA Championship, the Tour’s flagship tournament.
Interestingly, Lawrence and McIlroy finished one shot behind Fleetwood at the Dubai Invitational in January, and a closing 66 gave him a share of fifth at this tournament 12 months ago, so it’s a part of the world where he tends to thrive.
Wide fairways with few trees to speak of should suit Lawrence, who hits it in excess of 300 yards off the tee and crucially tops the Strokes Gained: Putting metric over the last 11 months.
In the last 15 years, five of the champions have led the putts per greens in regulation charts and five others were inside the top five.
Lawrence is inside the top 10 for that statistic too and having finished sixth at the Abu Dhabi Championship, it’s all adding up to a positive performance this week.
Golf betting sites are offering 28/1 on Lawrence winning the biggest tournament of his career and bearing in mind his form which has yielded half a dozen top-six finishes in his last 15 appearances across three separate tours, that price seems like good value.
The Panel’s DP World Tour Championship Prediction 1: Thriston Lawrence To Win (Each-Way) – 28/1 With Bet365 (Five Places)
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