The European Tour is all set for the first Rolex Series event of the season and with names such as Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood in the field there is plenty for us to get excited about.
Branden Grace was the winner in his home country last time out and the competitive week was the perfect occasion to kick off 2020.
Shane Lowry is the defending champion and will be looking to lift the trophy again in hope of kickstarting another season to match the calibre of 2019.
The details
Venue: Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Date: January 16-19
Course stats: Par-72, 7,583 yards
Defending champion: Shane Lowry (-18)
TV coverage
Tuesday: Hero Challenge, 2.30pm (Sky Sports Golf and Main Event)
Wednesday: On the Range, 11am (Sky Sports Golf)
Thursday: 3am and 11am (Sky Sports Golf)
Friday: 7am (Sky Sports Golf)
Saturday: 8am (Sky Sports Golf and Main Event)
Sunday: 7am (Sky Sports Golf and Main Event)
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship betting tips: Who to back each-way
Matthias Schwab (40/1 bet365) was one the most impressive European Tour performers throughout the 2019 season and looks set for big things this year.
He’s off to a good start in terms of Ryder Cup qualification and is up to 80th in the world rankings. Schwab skipped the first event of the season opting to head straight for the Middle East along with many others and will be looking to pick up where he left off last year.
The Austrian ranked 6th in Strokes Gained last season and 10th in Eagles Per Round statistics which could be a big positive around this layout.
His 2019 record included six top-5 finishes and 10 top 10s with a breakthrough victory the only thing to have eluded him. Tied 22nd on his first outing here last year there’s plenty to be optimistic about.
Paul Waring (80/1) is another player who enjoyed a fine 2019 which saw him climb to his highest ever world ranking of 73rd.
The popular Englishman made his WGC debut back in November and impressed when finishing tied for 8th. After that week he played three more times in 2019, finishing inside the top 25 on all occasions and this has him set up nicely for the new season.
He endured a series of missed cuts at this event prior to last season but after returning to the winners’ circle in 2018 a rejuvenated Waring returned to finish tied for 6th last January.
Another successful season should be on the cards for Waring and he will be looking to move further up the rankings to secure spots in future WGCs and, more importantly, the majors.
So that’s the each-way bets sorted, head to the next page for my top tip…