Abu Dhabi is where the crème de la crème of the golf universe is going to gather on Thursday, January 20, 2022. That’s when the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship tees off as the first tournament of the DP World Tour, previously known as the European Tour.

Tyrrell Hatton is the defending champion, but there are plenty of superstars who wish to see him fall from his throne. Those include the three champs – Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy – who are seen as the two top favorites.

2022 Abu Dhabi Odds

Player	Odds
Rory McIlroy	+700
Collin Morikawa	+700
Viktor Hovland	+1100
Shane Lowry	+2100
Tommy Fleetwood	+2400
Tyrrell Hatton	+2400
Adam Scott	+2900
Min Woo Lee	+3200
Robert Macintyre	+3400
Bernd Wiesberger	+3400

*Odds taken from FanDuel on January 18, 2022.

Where and When

Where: Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, UAE
When: January 20-23, 2022
How to Watch: NBC Golf Channel

Can Tyrrell Hatton Defend the Title?

Hatton was the golfer who won the last year’s tournament in Abu Dhabi. However, with the odds of +2400, online sportsbooks don’t think it’s likely he will retain the title. One of the reasons for that is that this year, competition is much fiercer than in 2021.

Last year, Hatton didn’t have to worry about Colin Morikawa, the #2 player in the Official World Golf Ranking. He also didn’t have Viktor Hovland to ruin his plans, the man who’s currently sitting four spots below Morikawa.

Speaking of the rankings, the reigning champ is coming to UAE with his name placed in the 21^st position in the list.

Is It Time for a Rory McIlroy Resurgence?

Although 2021 wasn’t a vintage year in McIlroy’s career, evidence being that he’s currently in the #9 position in the world, the Northern Ireland golfer did finish the year with a CJ Cup win. He won the PGA Tour win, leaving such giants behind him as Morikawa, who finished second.

Three months have passed since and McIlroy is looking to continue winning. Oddsmakers think his ambitions are justified, making him the joint favorite to win the Abu Dhabi event together. The other man in the equation is Morikawa who’s looking for revenge.

It appears that this is going to be a two-horse race led by the two golfing legends. So, who’s going to finish better? The fact that Morikawa is ranked seven places higher than McIlroy suggests that, currently, he’s playing better golf than his rival.

Pick: Collin Morikawa

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Jessie Carter

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Jessie is our resident sports specialist with over 4 years of experience in sports journalism. She's worked with several prominent online sports news outlets in the past and has accrued specialist insight across a wide range of sports markets. Combined with her own love and excitement of sports, having competed at a national level during college, she aims to improve sports coverage value for our readers at GamblingNews.

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