Golf - Abu Dhabi Championship

[Dougal]

High quality field for the real season opener and a bit of a stab in the dark from a punting perspective with no form to go on, two players with Ryder Cup ambitions for me in the outrights. Nick Dougherty e/w @ 33-1 I like Dougherty as he's one of the few golfers in possession of a personality and is ever improving. Dougherty's got two wins in his career so far but it really should be at least double that, choking when in sight of the finishing line has been a massive problem for him but I think this could be the year he proves he's over that. He finished the year in fine style by clinching the Dunhill Links ahead of a quality field and he'll be going all out to clinch a Ryder Cup debut in September, T11 here last year and has enough length off the tee to cope with this monster course. Ross Fisher e/w @ 66-1 This will be the third year for Fisher on tour and promises to be his best after some fine performance last season including his first victory in the KLM Open. Fisher was 13 in driving distance last year and that should give him an advantage on some on the long par 4s that feature on this course, he did miss the cut here last year but followed it up with 5th in Dubai suggesting playing in that part of the world isn't a problem. Fredrik Andersson-Hed - top Swede e/w@ 22-1 (skybet) I think with it being the first tournament of the season then that levels the field somewhat and A-Hed can hopefully prosper in this market. He seemingly came from nowhere last year at the grand old age of 37 and managed 6 top six finishes in some quality tournaments. On the back of that he should be full of confidence and will hopefully come out of the traps quickly.