Event Info
Starts: 9th September 2021
Course: Wentworth Golf Club, England
Par: 72
Length: 7,267 yards
2020 Champion: Tyrrell Hatton
Results
Overall Profit/Loss: -13pts
Pre-Event Bets: -9pts
1pt Each Way Min Woo Lee 75/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-6)
1pt Each Way Calum Hill 70/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-8)
0.75pts Each Way Rafa Cabrera Bello 100/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-8)
0.75pts Each Way Jordan Smith 100/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-8)
0.5pts Each Way Kurt Kitayama 150/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-8)
0.5pts Each Way Pablo Larrazabal 175/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-8)
In-Play Bets: -4pts
10 September 2021(-2pts)
1pt EW Bernd Wiesberger 50/1 @ Betfair (1/5 1-5)
11 September 2021(-2pts)
1pt Each Way Sean Crocker 22/1 @ Betfair (1/5 -4)
Preview
Course Info
Type of Course - Heathland
Course Designer - Harry Colt
Greens - Bentgrass
Par 5's - 4th, 12th, 17th and 18th
Hosted Since -1984
Premium on - Approach play
Weather Forecast
It's a dry and sunny build up to the event which should mean the course plays firm. Minimum winds expected and only rain forecast is Thursday.
Thurs - Light rain showers and light winds. Wind 3-6mph.
Fri - Light cloud and light winds. Wind 4-6mph.
Sat - Light cloud and light winds. Wind 2-4mph.
Sun - Light cloud and light winds. Wind 3-5mph.
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
A Rolex series event, this is the strongest European Tour field of the year. Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.
The course is likely to play slightly longer this year due to the event being pushed back into September.
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Trends
Winning score
We have had scores of -19 and -20 since the championship moved to September. In 2018 it was -17 but in earlier years scoring was considerably higher.
Course form
Five of the last six winners had posted a top 8 finish here prior to winning. Course form is very important.
Incoming form
Tyrrell Hatton, Danny Willett and Francesco Molinari had missed their previous cut before winning here. Ben An and Alex Noren had posted a top 15 finish in the event previously.
Nationality
Four of the past seven winners were British so they are favoured slightly.
Stats Analysis
Summary
Strokes Gained stats have been available for the past three tournaments. It's clear a solid long game is in order and solid scrambling is required.
SG: Off The Tee
The last three champions have ranked inside the top 20.
SG: Approach
Both Willett and Molinari were in the top 15. Hatton was 24th.
SG: Around The Greens
Hatton was 2nd last year and Molinari 2nd in 2018 but Willett ranked 73rd last year.
SG: Putting
Hatton was 16th last year, Willett 2nd in 2019 but Molinari was 55th in 2018.
In Play
Tough Holes
Par 4 3rd and the 9th have played tougest the last two years. The 1st and the 15th are other notable difficult holes.
Birdie Holes
Three of the par 5s (12th, 18th and 4th) play well under par and were the easiest on the course in 2019.
Fast or Slow Start
Every winner in the past six years has shot level par or better in the opening round. Only four of the past seven winners have broken 70 in the opening round. You can play catch up, although Hatton led from the 1st round last year. It's also a mixed bag for leaders, as only four of the last seven 3rd round leaders have converted.
In-play
BMW PGA Championship In-Play Blog
10th September 2021, 9.25pm (UK time)
Player | Total |
---|---|
Aphibarnrat | -12 |
Canter | -11 |
Laporta | -11 |
Scott | -10 |
Surprisingly, it was Kiradech Aphibarnrat who has kicked on the most out of the leaders and takes a one shot lead over Laurie Canter and Francesco Laporta. Adam Scott has taken over favouritism from Christiaan Bezuidenhout and is rated 6/1 to convert from two back.
Aphibarnrat has spoke last two days about the good feelings he gets playing back in Europe and is back enjoying pressure free golf after securing his PGA Tour card. He is a four time winner on tour and ranked 29th in the world in 2018 but he hasn't contended anywhere in the world for a couple of years now. The chasing pack is strong and he can't be backed with confidence.
Likewise, Laurie Canter arrived in disappointing form with only one top 10 since January. He was flaky in contention in Dubai last time he had a chance to win and at 10/1 he seems too short.
Five birdies on his back nine saved his round but Adam Scott looks more opposable now than after 18 holes. The chasing pack is stronger than it was with moves from Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry and many other multiple winners lurk.
We look set for a weekend of dry and cloudy conditions with minimum wind. It has the feel of an event where there could be considerable movement in the leaderboard so we will select one of the most likely movers.
Round 3 Bet
- 1pts Each Way Bernd Wiesberger 50/1 @ Betfair (1/5 1-5)
Followers of our twitter will have noted our praise for the Austrian today, performing admirably under the pressure of securing his Ryder Cup place today to keep himself in contention for the title. He did this despite missing countless birdie putts on the front 9 and it's likely he will improve each day as the pressure of a top 50 finish eases. He won two Rolex series events in 2019 so is not scared of claiming a big title, he is the halfway value to challenge here.
9th September 2021, 7.05pm (UK time)
Player | Total |
---|---|
Aphibarnrat | -8 |
Bezuidenhout | -8 |
Scott | -7 |
Rose | -5 |
Kawamura | -5 |
Canter | -5 |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout's chip in for eagle on the 4th sparked a birdie run and a 40ft birdie putt on 18 means he ties Kiradech Aphibarnrat for the lead. Bez is now 7/2 favourite with Adam Scott the only other at single figures at 11/2.
It's undeniable both Bezuidenhout and Scott holed their fair share today, with both players chipping in and holing some long birdie efforts and it's likely to even out over the next three days.
With that said, they are both serial winners and there have been weaker leaderboards to take on in recent weeks. The fact Hatton led from day one last year also favours the leaders but a word of warning - Justin Harding also co-led last year before a Friday 81 meant he missed the cut!
The forecast tomorrow is for some early afternoon rain so the early starters may get a slight advantage in the dryer conditions.
With a strong leaderboard, we're going to wait and see how tomorrow progresses before getting involved any further.
Round 2 Bets
- No Bets