While the HP Byron Nelson Championship plays this week, arguably the biggest tournament on the European Tour begins Thursday at Wentworth in Surrey with the BMW PGA Championship. The most prestigious event on the tour has some of the world’s top golfers competing, including the four current major champions.
World No. 2 Luke Donald leads the outright betting. Donald could have taken Lee Westwood’s No. 1 spot last week with a win at the Volvo World Matchplay Championship, but he lost to Ian Poulter in the final. Still, Donald has finished in the top 10 in each of his last eight tournaments. But, Donald’s strength is his short game and Wentworth is better suited for long drivers.
Westwood is second in the odds after reaching the final 16 at Volvo last week. He finished 11th at the Masters and won the Ballantine’s Championship, and knows how important the BMW PGA Championship has become. World No. 3 Martin Kaymer didn’t start 2011 well but has since finished 19th at The Players Championship and made it to the semifinals at Volvo last week.
Since his choke at the Masters, Rory McIlroy has missed the cut at Wells Fargo and lost to Graeme McDowell in match play last week, so he is best avoided. The same goes for McDowell, who has missed three of his last five cuts and has only one top 20 finish in eight appearances at Wentworth.
Volvo World Matchplay winner Poulter is a tempting bet but he has missed the cut in seven of nine BMW PGA Championships. This tournament has seen some surprise winners in recent years. 2010 champion Simon Khan is a huge long shot even though he was also a runner-up and has four top 25 finishes at the event. More likely than Khan is 2009 winner Paul Casey, but he has missed his last two cuts and lost in the round robin state at Volvo last week. Anders Hansen won here in 2002 and 2007 and has two top five finishes in 2011.
BMW PGA Championship Outright Odds (provided by Ladbrokes)
Luke Donald: 7/1
Lee Westwood: 8/1
Martin Kaymer: 14/1
Rory McIlroy: 16/1
Graeme McDowell: 20/1
Charl Schwartzel: 20/1
Justin Rose: 25/1
Paul Casey: 25/1
Alvaro Quiros: 33/1
Ian Poulter: 33/1
Ross Fisher: 33/1
Matteo Manassero: 40/1
Thomas Aiken: 40/1
Francesco Molinari: 40/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez: 40/1
Anders Hansen: 40/1
Retief Goosen: 50/1
Chris Wood: 50/1
Edoardo Molinari: 50/1
Ernie Els: 50/1
Nicolas Colsaerts: 50/1