Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

With nine of the world's top 20 in action, it's fair to say this week's Abu Dhabi Championship is one of the major events of the 2018 calendar and a case can be made for more than a few runners.

It's a long flat course, with a decent spattering of hazards, and typically rewards the players who can hit their greens with above average efficiency. The biggest hitters dominated in the early years, but constant course tweaking has eroded that advantage from the stats we've seen in previous years.

We could run through all the players about whom a decent case could be made, but it would be a very long preview, so we'll hone in on our picks immediately.

Justin Rose finished last season with ten consecutive Top 10 finishes, and we're backing the Englishman to continue where he left off. He's been posting some impressive driving range stats on Twitter this week, so looks in relaxed mood ahead of this competition. His last two appearances here have delivered a runner-up finish and a 12 place, so he knows his way around, although he's missed the event for the past two renewals. Of the front runners he's our pick, although it was a close run thing with Rory McIlroy who simply loves it here. His competitive rustiness puts us off though for this event.

Rafa Cabrera Bello is a man who has been hitting his greens with decent regularity this season, and he's posted five top 20 finishes here in nine visits including a 4th and 7th.

He's opened this season by finishing 10th in the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, 11th at the CJ Cup and then fifth in the World Golf Championships with an excellent 8-under performance.

1pt e/w Justin Rose to win at 8/1 (1/5 odds 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) with Paddy Power/Betfair/Coral

1pt e/w Rafael Cabrera Bello to win at 33/1 (1/5 odds 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) with Paddy Power/Betfair/Coral

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