Betting tips: Who comes out on top at Wentworth?
The one to be on: Francesco Molinari
Crikey, this is an open market.
It’s not very often you’ll see the favourite weighing in at a whopping 12/1.
The oddsmakers are finding it difficult to split Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson but, for me, that’s easy – the former is in much better form.
That said, it is to Francesco Molinari that I’ll be looking to lead the charge for me at the European Tour’s flagship tournament.
The Italian (18/1) is in wonderful form at the moment, coming off a top 10 at the Players Championship.
With a worst finish of tied-33rd at The Masters in the last few weeks, you can combine his good touch with a stellar record at Wentworth.
The argument against Molinari is that he keeps putting himself in position and doesn’t win enough. But it’s hard to back against a player that, outside of a 55th placed finish 12 months ago, has recorded results of fifth, seventh, ninth and seventh in the previous four years.
Few find a green in regulation with more monotony than Molinari. He’s second in the European Tour stats this season and leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained in that category.
He could certainly do with holing a few more putts but, if he finds Wentworth’s new greens to his liking, he will be a major threat.
The each-way back: Martin Kaymer
Right on the edge of this category for me at 33/1 but I’ll take a chance on the notoriously streaky German.
This season he has continued his up-and-down form with top 10s in Abu Dhabi and the Honda Classic flanked by some very middling displays.
But if there is one place the two-time major champion has shown admirable consistency in the last few years, then it is Wentworth
In the last three years, he has finished 12th, 18th and 7th. You need to be accurate to negotiate Wentworth’s tight fairways and Kaymer’s hitting nearly 70 per cent of fairways in PGA Tour action this season.
If he can get his approach play on song, and he’ll need to at a course that gets harder the closer you get to the hole, he’s actually putting well enough to capitalise on the new creeping bent grass greens.
I’m also not quite sure why the defending champion Chris Wood is an easy to back 35/1. He clearly loves Wentworth and was singing the praises of the new layout when he got a sneak peak earlier in the month.
The dark horse: Marc Warren
It’s been a hard road for the Scot so far this season but there were signs of life both at the Tshawne Open and GolfSixes.
He boasts a Wentworth record which, considering he’s available at 175/1, certainly merits a look at the top 20 markets.
Two top 20s and a second placed finish in three of the last four years will see me pop a pound or two his way.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
