BMW PGA Championship betting tips: Who wins at Wentworth?
By Matt Coles
Wentworth is the home to both the BMW PGA Championship and the DP World Tour’s headquarters, but who wins the Tour’s biggest event, right outside its front door?
This week sees the DP World Tour’s home event take place at Wentworth. Who takes the title at the BMW PGA Championship?
Wentworth, in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, plays host to the DP World Tour headquarters. This event has been held at the Wentworth Club since 198, having moved around the country prior to that.
Irishman Shane Lowry is the defending champion, at a tournament where the winners’ list is a who’s who of European golf.
Colin Montgomerie made history in 2000 when he won the BMW PGA Championship for a third successive year. Luke Donald, Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros have all won this event on multiple occasions, with Sir Nick Faldo being the tournament’s only four-time champion.
Who will add their name to that incredible list of winners at the DP World Tour’s main show? Matt Coles gives us his picks for glory at the Wentworth Club…
BMW PGA Championship betting tips and preview
Venue: Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, England
Date: September 14-17, 2023
Course stats: Par 72, 7,267 yards
Course summary: The home of the DP World Tour, Wentworth has played host to some of the greats of the game. The club itself has 63 holes, with the 18-hole West Course being the most famous. It is one of few courses around the world to finish with back-to-back par 5s.
Defending champion: Shane Lowry (-17 – 3 rounds)
BMW PGA Championship betting tips
Shane Lowry @ 20/1 with William Hill
A lot people questioned, including myself, whether Shane Lowry should have been included in Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team due to the form he has been in over the course of 2023.
However, he firmly put his foot down to try and quash any talk of that on Sunday. A final round of 68 on the Palmer North course saw Lowry come home in a tie for 3rd at his home national open.
This week, the Irishman comes back to Wentworth to defend the title he won in strange circumstances 12 months ago. He held off Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy in an event that was shortened to three rounds due to the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Lowry has not won since, but Wentworth is clearly a place he knows and plays well at. Could the Irishman really silence the Ryder Cup doubters and win back-to-back at the BMW PGA? 20/1 says he does…
Min Woo Lee @ 22/1 with William Hill
Six weeks off didn’t seem to have an affect on Min Woo Lee. The Australian came right back to the top, finishing inside the top ten at the K Club.
After six weeks off, and a T7 finish in Ireland, Lee comes in this week at 22/1, and inside the top ten favourites to take home the BMW PGA Championship.
His T7 result in Ireland was his tenth top-ten finish in the last 12 months, including four top-3s. It’s been a while since the Aussie was in the winners’ circle. He is definitely worth a shot this week.
He will also be aiming to follow his sister… Minjee Lee was victorious on the LPGA Tour on Sunday, beating England’s Charley Hull on the second hole of their sudden death play-off at the Kroger Queen City Championship. Could we have back-to-back sibling winners across the LPGA and DP World Tours?
Ryan Fox @ 40/1 each way with William Hill
I took Ryan Fox last week at the Horizon Irish Open as I fancied the Kiwi to perform well in a country he has done so before. He did, coming home in a tie for 3rd at the K Club.
That result was Fox’s first top ten of 2023, a sign that the New Zealander has turned a corner after an inconsistent year, though he had six top-20 finishes prior to the Horizon Irish Open.
One day on from his T3 finish, I am picking Fox to secure another good result at Wentworth. It hasn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for him, but this week could change all that, especially after garnering some confidence from his result in Straffan.
Best of the rest…
Rory McIlroy: It was not quite the Sunday that Rory McIlroy was expecting at the K Club. He carded a two-over-par round of 74 to fall away from a potential second Horizon Irish Open crown.
However, we know exactly what he brings to the table. He has won at Wentworth before, and finished runner-up to Shane Lowry in 2022. He is the favourite with William Hill at 13/2.
Viktor Hovland: Second favourite behind McIlroy is Norway’s Viktor Hovland, the most in-form man in golf. He currently stands at 7/1 to win at Wentworth.
The Norwegian won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship in back-to-back weeks at the end of August to lift the FedEx Cup. Expect him to be right up there once again come Sunday.
Grant Forrest: At 150/1, Scotsman Grant Forrest is without doubt an outside bet for glory this week at Wentworth.
However, the Scot finished in a tie for 3rd at the K Club on Sunday, and is in good form. He has three top-11 finishes in his last four events on British & Irish soil, including a T23 last year at Wentworth. Each way on Forrest could bring in some good money this week.
Fancy a punt on this week’s action? Take a look at the latest odds with William Hill.
What do you think to our betting tips for the BMW PGA Championship? Who is going to do well at the Wentworth Club this week? Let me know with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
