Luuuuuuke is a worthy favourite at Wentworth

BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth

This week Wentworth hosts the European Tours flagship event and has attracted a very strong field. With weather peaking at 25 degrees there is sure to be some low numbers this year. Last year six under won but you may need double that to get the W this week.

I think Luke Donald is a real worthy favourite and wouldn’t be scared to take some of the skinny odds available. Donald is defending champion and has just received three awards at the annual European Tour Award night, so confidence will be high. With the top three in the World Rankings all here this week there will be plenty of ranking points available and all the media coverage is sure to concentrate on that.

This weeks favourite and defending champion

My each way alternative, to Donald, is Francesco Molinari. Molinari is just off the back of a victory in the Spanish Open and has notched up eight Top 20 finishes in his nine starts on the European Tour this season. He has hit just over 80% of GIR this year which is really impressive and is the key to his game really, when he holes putts he contends, tee to green he is flawless most weeks. Although Molinari has no great course form it doesn’t bother me too much, the course has been changed more times than enough in recent years and every year gets criticism of some description. The 12^th hole has been changed from a Par 4 to a Par 5 which would be an advantage to both selections as they are not the longest of hitters!

My Selections:

Luke Donald @ 8/1 Outright with Paddy Power

Francesco Molinari @ 33/1 each way with Paddy Power

The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

Hunter Mahan is just off the back of a missed cut at the Players, which was a blip in what has been a very consistent season thus far. Colonial is a course that demands accuracy from the tee and accurate iron shots to small greens, which should suit Mahan. He is ranked 7^th in ‘Driving Accuracy’ and 5^th in ‘Greens in Regulation.’ Mahan has already had two W’s this season and a couple of other Top 15 finishes and is sure to pick up another victory soon, why not this week? The course is tailor made for his game.

Bo Van Pelt has had a couple of smart finishes at Colonial of late. He was 3^rd last year after closing with a round of 65 and finished 10^th in 2010. Van Pelt also features highly in the driving stats (6^th in Total Driving) and although his GIR stat isn’t that impressive (76^th on tour) he does get it done with the putter, ranked 2^nd in the ‘Strokes gained through putting’ stat.

Harris English hasn’t played Colonial before and that would usually worry me when deciding my picks. However English’s confidence will be sky high after Monday qualifying for the Open Championship at Gleneagles (no not that one) County Club which is nearby (so I believe), so I assume he’s fitted in a couple of practise rounds and hopefully likes what he sees! English shot rounds of 60 and 63 in the two round qualifier so his game is clearly where he wants it to be, hopefully good enough for a Top 10 finish.

My Selections:

Hunter Mahan @ 25/1 each way with Bet365

Bo Van Belt @ 25/1 each way with Paddy Power

Harris English @ 7/1 Top Ten Finish with Paddy Power