Dubai World Championship

Aidric

The culmination of over a year's golf comes to a mouthwatering conclusion over four days on the Dubai Earth Course. McIlroy leads the standings going in to the championship but Westwood, Kaymer & Fisher can still all claim the race to Dubai. All these players are in superb form, but there is another 54 players fighting it out for the tournament victory. Paul Casey and Anthony Kim are out through injury. The weather is forecast to be warm with just a little breeze so conditions will be perfect for cracking golf.
Westwood & Allenby are my picks for victory. What does everyone else think?


Betting: http://www.paddypower.com/bet?action=go_type&category=SPORTS&disp_cat_id=&ev_class_id=7&ev_type_id=12568&ev_oc_grp_ids=120134&bir_index=

Tee Times
Tee Time Player 1 Player 2
1 07:40 DONALDSON Jamie DREDGE Bradley
1 07:50 MCGRANE Damien LIANG Wen-chong
1 08:00 AIKEN Thomas MAYBIN Gareth
1 08:10 WILLETT Danny DONALD Luke
1 08:20 FASTH Niclas KINGSTON James
1 08:30 STORM Graeme ROSE Justin
1 08:40 DRYSDALE David BOURDY Grégory
1 08:50 HEDBLOM Peter WEBSTER Steve
1 09:00 WOOD Chris LAWRIE Peter
1 09:10 SCOTT Adam WALL Anthony
1 09:25 STRANGE Scott STERNE Richard
1 09:35 CABRERA-BELLO Rafael SINGH Jeev Milkha
1 09:45 JACQUELIN Raphaël OOSTHUIZEN Louis
1 09:55 EDFORS Johan MCDOWELL Graeme
1 10:05 DOUGHERTY Nick VILLEGAS Camilo
1 10:15 McGOWAN Ross LEVET Thomas
1 10:25 ROCK Robert NOREN Alexander
1 10:35 GOOSEN Retief SCHWARTZEL Charl
1 10:45 JIMÉNEZ Miguel Angel ALLENBY Robert
1 10:55 HANSEN Anders QUIROS Alvaro
1 11:10 HANSEN Søren HARRINGTON Padraig
1 11:20 JAIDEE Thongchai STENSON Henrik
1 11:30 HANSON Peter FDEZ-CASTAÑO Gonzalo
1 11:40 GARCIA Sergio MOLINARI Francesco
1 11:50 KJELDSEN Søren ELS Ernie
1 12:00 POULTER Ian DYSON Simon
1 12:10 WILSON Oliver OGILVY Geoff
1 12:20 FISHER Ross KAYMER Martin
1 12:30 WESTWOOD Lee MCILROY Rory

useurename

im going to have a bet on chris woo.if he continues to improve he could be right at the top of the world in a few years

PhilipMarlowe

Mouthwatering is right... plenty of contenders bringing recent good form to the table... McIlroy has been magic lately and I'd love to see him take the honours.
Garcia to win with 4 rounds in the 60's

f22

McIlroy or Kaymer for me, really looking forward to it!

In_tuition

My selection preview here

Whyner

A few sick days and sky sports would be heaven alright.

scrubber72

working evenings so i get to watch it all
Going to go for rory and paddy and might just have an outside flutter on Noren

stockdam

Rory to finish in the top 4 and win the overall race.

sweetswing

roary to win , west wood top 5, harington top 10:D really looking foreward to it.

DU.LLAHAN

if rory finishes in top four and westwood finishes 5th does mcillroy win the race? What has to happen for mcillroy to win the race if he doesnt win the tournie?

philboy

stockdam wrote: »

Rory to finish in the top 4 and win the overall race.

Yes I think so

BombSquad

DU.LLAHAN wrote: »

if rory finishes in top four and westwood finishes 5th does mcillroy win the race? What has to happen for mcillroy to win the race if he doesnt win the tournie?

Not necessarily if Kaymer or Fisher wins. If he finishes level or ahead of Westwood, Fisher and Kaymer he wins. If he finished behind Westwood he needs to make sure Westwood doesn't earn ~130k more than him (as he's 130k ahead of him at the moment). Same scenario with the other guys, just different amounts.... Kaymer ~200k, Fisher ~400k.

Aidric

Robert Allenby currently leading the way after an opening 65, a shot clear of Villegas and Wood. Harrington is best of the Irish on -4 going up the last, Westwood is on the same mark after 11. McIlroy is on -1 after 11 along with Peter Lawrie after 18.

PhilipMarlowe

Allenby -7 though only level for the par 5's
McIlroy moves to -2

PhilipMarlowe

Kaymer & Fisher even thru 13.. Fisher started with a double and clawing it back slowly...
Kaymer has 3 birdies against 3 bogeys.
Westwood -4 and bogey free thru 13
McIlroy 3 birdies and 1 bogey thru 13

PhilipMarlowe

McIlroy 3 birdies in a row, -4 thru 15 and t4

Whyner

Chris Wood opened with 2 birdies and finished with 4 in a row :eek: smooth!

Whyner

Licksy wrote: »

McIlroy 3 birdies in a row, -4 thru 15 and t4

Hopefully he gets a birdie on the par 5 18th

Morrisseeee

Some 3rd shot by Westwood on the 18th, I was sure he was snookered ! Both par it, so Westy is -6 & Mac is -4.

Whyner

Par leaves Rory on a solid -4

Westwood finished on -6

Mister Sifter

This could have been a huge anti-climax but is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend!

f22

Mister Sifter wrote: »

This could have been a huge anti-climax but is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend!

It could never be the same without Coltart!

ShriekingSheet

f22 wrote: »

It could never be the same without Coltart!

Yeah it seems everyone has a "we met Andy Coltart in a bar and he was sound and chatted to us" story!

f22

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Yeah it seems everyone has a "we met Andy Coltart in a bar and he was sound and chatted to us" story!

Maybe if he spent less time in the bar meeting everyone he might have retained his card

Mister Sifter

Dubai without Coltart... It's like a bacon sandwich without the ketchup, westlife without the fat one, a can of pop without a burp afterwards. The world cup without Ireland.

Whyner

McIlroy on fire, -5 thru 9 and takes the lead at -9, 1 ahead of Westy

Burgerman55

Rory is now bigtime.
He should be top 4 by this time next year.

Morrisseeee

Things are certainly 'heating' up in Dubai !!!!

Mister Sifter

Anyone looking for a link, click this link and then go for the first media player option. Good feed.

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=56124&part=sports

Morrisseeee

^^ its also on channelsurfing.net (with a MS Silverlight download)

Aidric

Two Irishmen top of the leaderboard, sweet. McIlroy -9 after 13, Harrington -8 after 12.

stockdam

Exceptional play by Rory.

Morrisseeee

Great birdie by Harrington, thought he went into the water at first !! he's now -9

Burgerman55

by next year ireland might have 3 golfers in the world top ten:

2. rory
5. harrington
10. GMAC

Thats some achievement for such a small nation.
And McGinley is the next Ryder Cup Captain

Mr check raise

Bit f a dodgy back nine from McIlroy. Finished up with 69 so -7 for the tourny. Back in 37. Disappointed he didnt go low as the front nine promised so much. Westwood is at -8. Still 2 rounds to go. This is very exciting, could really go down to the wire!

Aidric

McIlroy has finished his round on -7. Harrington doing his best to blow a two shot lead down the last. He has just gone in the water with his fourth shot.
The other Race To Dubai candidates finished:
Kaymer -2
Fisher Par
Westwood -8 (17)

Of the other Irish, McGrane is on Par and Peter Lawrie is on-3, both finished their second round.

Mister Sifter

Burgerman55 wrote: »

by next year ireland might have 3 golfers in the world top ten:

2. rory
5. harrington
10. GMAC

Thats some achievement for such a small nation.
And McGinley is the next Ryder Cup Captain

McDowell is on the verge of slipping out the top 50 (currently 50th) so not sure where the optimism about him breaking into the top 10 comes from.

Interesting to note that there are now 9 europeans in the top 20. Just a shame that they've not won more majors between them in recent years.

Aidric

It's a double on the last for Harrington, poor poor finish on a par five.

Mister Sifter

I can't see past Westwood to take the title and all that comes with it. I don't think Rory has the bottle for it. Experience will see Westwood do enough this week.

Aidric

Westwood with a two shot lead over the field. There is a big clutch of players within two shots. It sets it up nicely for the weekend.

PhilipMarlowe

Looks like Harrington & McIlroy pairing tomorrow...
Just saw a few minutes of this while having a coffee and McIlroy made 2 very weak bogeys on 14 & 15, two good birdie holes.
2 chip and 2 putt on 14 and 3 stabs on 15 presumably after hitting a decent recovery from partly under a bush onto the green.

BombSquad

Mister Sifter wrote: »

I can't see past Westwood to take the title and all that comes with it. I don't think Rory has the bottle for it. Experience will see Westwood do enough this week.

If you're not supporting Coltart you're supporting his brother in law!

Mister Sifter

BombSquad wrote: »

If you're not supporting Coltart you're supporting his brother in law!

Ha... it's a bit of the old reverse Boards psychology Hopefully

I'd actually love to see Rory win it. I like Westwood, but i'd still rather McIlroy sealed the deal. I just can't see it. The back 9 today he just seemed to wilt a little. I think if it comes down to it on Sunday afternoon he just won't have it in him to go on and grab it.

BombSquad

Mister Sifter wrote: »

Ha... it's a bit of the old reverse Boards psychology Hopefully

I'd actually love to see Rory win it. I like Westwood, but i'd still rather McIlroy sealed the deal. I just can't see it. The back 9 today he just seemed to wilt a little. I think if it comes down to it on Sunday afternoon he just won't have it in him to go on and grab it.

He seemed to wilt last week in Hong Kong also. He was all over the pin but his putting was not 100% under the gun. Lets hope he can get that sorted out and finish the job this week. I read that he 3 putted for at least one of those 2 back nine bogeys today.

OT but... the Asian TV stations were loving him last week. The reaction he got was unbelievable. Granted he seemed to be hitting the ball unbelieveably well. He shot 64 but it could and should have been 3-4 shots lower.

Burgerman55

Mister Sifter wrote: »

McDowell is on the verge of slipping out the top 50 (currently 50th) so not sure where the optimism about him breaking into the top 10 comes from.

A rising tide lifts all boats.
GMAC showed some great touches this year, just wasn't consistent overall -that comes with experience.
I think he'll be a force next year, particular with the Ryder Cup coming up.

Mister Sifter

BombSquad wrote: »

He seemed to wilt last week in Hong Kong also. He was all over the pin but his putting was not 100% under the gun. Lets hope he can get that sorted out and finish the job this week. I read that he 3 putted for at least one of those 2 back nine bogeys today.

OT but... the Asian TV stations were loving him last week. The reaction he got was unbelievable. Granted he seemed to be hitting the ball unbelieveably well. He shot 64 but it could and should have been 3-4 shots lower.

One thing that may help him tomorrow is that he is paired with Oooo-oooo-oooo-oosthuizen who is a good mate of his and is also with the same mgmt company.

stumpypeeps

I fear for Rory, he's 123rd in putting on the European Tour. Thats not the sign of someone who is going to come through a tight battle.

I hope he has the where with all to become a good putter. Or else we could be watching Sergio mark 2.

stockdam

stumpypeeps wrote: »

I fear for Rory, he's 123rd in putting on the European Tour. Thats not the sign of someone who is going to come through a tight battle.

I hope he has the where with all to become a good putter. Or else we could be watching Sergio mark 2.

At times he appears to be careless and inconsistent.

stumpypeeps

stockdam wrote: »

At times he appears to be careless and inconsistent.

In his defence he's under a lot of pressure, mostly from himself, we all know how difficult a 4 footer can be under a little pressure.
Still its the one are he does need a dramatic improvement in.

Swinging Looney

stumpypeeps wrote: »

I fear for Rory, he's 123rd in putting on the European Tour. Thats not the sign of someone who is going to come through a tight battle.

I hope he has the where with all to become a good putter. Or else we could be watching Sergio mark 2.

Statistics can be so misleading. The stat you're referring to is total putts per round. Part of the reason why he takes more putts than a lot of others is because he is 3rd for greens in regulation. If you hit more greens than everyone else you will almost always have a higher total putts count. He comes in at 30th for putts per GiR which is a fairer assesment and is not bad at all. He is also no. 1 for stroke average which is also a fairer assesment of how he is playring.

I wouldn't worry about his putting at all!!

stumpypeeps

Swinging Looney wrote: »

Statistics can be so misleading. The stat you're referring to is total putts per round. Part of the reason why he takes more putts than a lot of others is because he is 3rd for greens in regulation. If you hit more greens than everyone else you will almost always have a higher total putts count. He comes in at 30th for putts per GiR which is a fairer assesment and is not bad at all. He is also no. 1 for stroke average which is also a fairer assesment of how he is playring.

I wouldn't worry about his putting at all!!

You can use stats to prove anything, 43% of people know that.

Getting away from the stats, I have seen a lot of Rory over the last while. He never looks 100% comfortable over those 3 to 5 foot par putts. And I would hazard a guess he misses a lot more of them than anyone else in the top 10 for the race to Dubai. Its his amazing iron play that has him where he is.