Abu Dhabi Championship 2022 - Yas Links, Yas Island UAE

 The DP Tour finally gets going in 2022 following the aborted South African Open in December. The SA Open did however proceed as a Sunshine Tour only event which Daniel Van Tonder duly won. So, with just the Joburg Open,which saw many UK&I players withdraw after day-1 due to the OMICRON outbreak in the books, the Abu Dhabi Championship is met with great enthusiasm and excitement this week boosted with the 2021 Race to Dubai Champion and current Open Champion, Collin Morikawa headlining. Rory McIlroy & Victor Hovland also tee it up and Adam Scott makes a surprise appearance too.

Given this is the first event for the vast majority of the field, it is hard to overlook those that have played in Hawaii recently and brushed off any dust and that points towards the market leaders. However, this event is renowned for producing some shock storylines over the years but as the tournament moves from Abu Dhabi GC to Yas Links, perhaps that "voodoo" will be lifted. With 8 places on offer, I'm chancing some value plays in the hope that one or two can hit the placings. I do expect the three market leaders to contest this and if they shouldn't prevail there is always Shane Lowry, Tyrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and the aforementioned Adam Scott in behind to take up the mantle!

I'm going to give another chances to some recent selections this week and in my research I noted two players that I actually backed for this tournament last year who I'm keen to chance again. Thorbjorn Olesen will tee it up having put all his personal problems behind him in the courts last December and he may just relish a renewed approach at the beginning of a season where he looks to establish himself once again as a top player on this tour. Whilst he did withdraw just before the off twelve months ago, I'm happy to take the same view that a coastal course with some wind will be to his liking and can't pass on the 100/1 - 8 places on offer.

I sided with Thomas Pieters here and at the Saudi International last year to no avail although he posted a TOP10 in Riyadh. He subsequently went on to post 11 TOP20s in his 19 starts thereafter, winning the Portugal Masters last November in the process. Fatherhood appears to be suiting the Belgian well and the hope here is that he can kick start another successful season from the get-go here @ 40/1 - 8 places

Minwoo Lee, I put up for the BMW international last June and I'm ready to side with him here again, just @35/1 - 8 places. He won 2 starts after the BMW and arrives in top form this week having posted a T-4th last week in Australia on the back of a 16th at the DP World Tour Championship in December, 4th in Dubai, 8th in Portugal and a runners up placing behind Matty Fitzpatrick at Valderrama. That's phenomenal form and that price is just about fair for another bold showing this week given he's dusted off the Christmas downtime with a solid performance last week.

I can't leave Guido Migliozzi out here at a links track. Bolstered by excellent Middle East form as well, the Italian reached dizzy heights last June when challenging at the US Open when finishing 4th and he too should be well suited to Yas Links. He's probably the best value for me in the field this week and that he plays alongside Min Woo Lee & Robert MacIntyre for the first two days can be seen as positive as this group looks to be a strong one and I'm hoping they can feed off each other. 125/1 - 8 places is far too big....I'd have taken 66s anyway.

Finally, Alexander Bjork was kind to me last year and I' very happy to see 80/1 - 8 places for a player that pushed Collin Morikawa in Dubai last December when on @ 100s. Laurie Canter, Nino Bertasio & Marcus Armitage caught my eye for this as too did Victor Perez, Maverick Antcliff & Francesco Laporta. In the end I finalized on Francesco Laporta to complete my staking plan and reluctantly omitted Canter at 50s, as deemed too short.

Selections

1 pt e/w T. Olesen @ 100/1 - 8 places
1 pt e/w G. Migliozzi @ 125/1 - 8 places
1.5 pts e/w T. Pieters @ 40/1 - 8 places
1.5 pts e/w M. Lee @ 35/1 - 8 places
1 pt e/w A. Bjork @ 80/1 - 8 places
0.5 pts e/w F. Laporta @ 125/1 - 8 places

Sony Open 2022 - Waialae CC,Hawaii

 Let's hope for some wind this week in Hawaii as the PGA Tour hops over to another island in Hawaii for the Sony Open. Whilst I don't normally enjoy the birdie-fests that the tour throws up from time to time, I did enjoy watching the golf last week at Kapalua as the low scoring has certainly whetted the appetite for the year ahead. Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas & Collin Morikawa look good to set the pace for the others to keep up with.

Talor Gooch leads my staking plan this week following a decent performance last week at the TOC. Gooch has kicked 2022 off more or less where he left 2021, and Waialae CC is a course that will suit his accuracy game from T2G. Gooch gives us some value @30/1 - 8 places given Bryson deChambeau has withdrawn . I had him @33s with BDC, so I'm more than happy to get onboard here especially as the RSM Classic has a strong correlation with this course. Gooch won the RSM Classic in the fall and was also 11th at El Chameleon GC for the World Wide Technology Championship which also, if not, has more correlation with Waialae. Despite his last 3 visits here yielding only one paycheck (a lowly 63rd), Gooch is a much improved player and can contend.

Cameron Young is a player I want to follow with interest this year and although I'm unsure if Waialae will suit, I can't ignore his TOP-30 at Sea Island following his 2nd place finish at the Sanderson's Farm at Jackson CC and from those outings he does look like a player that could be a regular on the leaderboards and with 200/1 - 8 places think he's worth including.

Si Woo Kim tees it up here ahead of defending The American Express next week. We have seen many times that a player can raise his game a week or two ahead of a tournament where they have performed or won at in previous years and it's encouraging to see the South Korean hit form of late, posting 3 TOP-20s in his 6 starts this season including a T-10 at Jackson CC. It's even more encouraging to see him available @ 50/1 - 8 places. He's the same price as course specialist Charles Howell III but I do prefer him over the 42 year old who has only won 3 times on tour to date, although the last win came in 2018 at the RSM Classic, a correlated event for this one. 

I was initially keen on Marc Leishman,Brian Harman, Abraham Ancer, Kevin Kisner & Corey Conners but concluded there wasn't much value there so I finalized my staking plan with Englisham, Aaron Rai @ 80/1 - 8 places and Max McGreevy @ 175/1 - 8 places. Rai is in form as he embarks on a PGA Tour career having posted posted a T-16 at RSM Classic, T-19 at Houston, T15 at WWT in his last three starts, which highlight performances at both El Chameleon & Sea Island. Now ranked 100 in the OWGR, 2022 goals & targets are the incentive to kick on and make the lineups at the WGCs and Majors. He'll make his debut here so thats a concern but the price is good for me on the back of recent form and ideal game for Waialae! Max as per previous previews is well capable of a shock result on tour in his rookie season and has already posted 2 TOP20s this season. My namesake obviously is a personal interest but at the prices currently being posted, I'm more than happy to have him included in the blogs P&L this year.

Selections

1.5 pts e/w Talor Gooch @ 30/1 - 8 places

1 pt e/w Si Woo Kim @ 50/1 - 8 places

1 pt e/w Aaron Rai @ 80/1 - 8 places

.50 pts e/w Cameron Young @ 200/1 - 8 places

.75 pts e/w Max McGreevy @ 175/1 - 8 places

Tournament of Champions 2022 - Plantation Course, Kapalua, Hawaii

 A strong field tees it up this week for the TOC in Hawaii and I'm dipping the toes in on the 2022 curtain raiser with the favourite, JT and Erik Van Rooyen.

JT has twice been a winner here and he'll look to get out of the blocks early and follow up on his 5th & 3rd place finishes at the end of 2021. A deserved favourite for the event he may be but without getting too hung up on whether he's value of not, he's a bet for me here.

Erik Van Rooyen could surprise this week @ 125/1 - 6 places. Recent winner of the Barracuda Championship, the South African makes his debut here and perhaps he has a lot of heavyweights to overcome at Kapalua this week but he's not out of his depth and could challenge a top-6 where his big hitting and a return to the form he showed last August/September not long after becoming a Dad, could see him pick up again. Having spent some family time over the Christmas period, EVR arrives in good form sporting a moustache that he may just keep a bit longer if he puts a good result on the board here.

Selections

3 pts e/w Justin Thomas @ 8/1 - 6 places

1 pt e/w Erik Van Rooyen @ 125/1 - 6 places

Roll on 2022 !

 Another year comes to an end and who would have thought this time last year, we would be going into a third year dealing with COVID-19 and the restrictions, lockdowns and general worry about our ability to stay safe & healthy? On reflection, sport has served us well over the past two years, providing many if us with an escape from the ongoing uncertainties and upheaval in our daily routines. Golf was very lucky on the world stage to be able to function and despite the rescheduling that was forced upon them, the Europeantour did a magnificent job in producing tournaments throughout. If only the local authorities and governments can see sense and keep golf courses open for the members and public alike in 2022 and learn from the mistake that bsaw many courses shut throughout UK & Ireland when there was simply no need for them to be!

It seemed to be a good year for golf tipsters throughout 2021. From my own perspective I had my best year in a long time with a final yield of +364.95 pts

So, on to 2022 where I hope to start getting involved with the Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour from Hawaii on the 6th January. Let's hope we can go one better than last year where Joaquin Niemann lost out in a playoff, before the DP Tour kicks off in Abu Dhabi on the 20th January.

Until then, Happy Christmas and all the best wishes for a much healthier 2022!