BMW PGA Championship: Hovland Can Take Victory

• The DP World Tour moves from Denmark to England 
• This is the DP World Tour’s flagship event
• The field includes 17 players from the LIV Tour

BMW PGA Championship Odds

The odds for this tournament are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to Caesars Sportsbook and place a bet.

BMW PGA Championship Picks

Viktor Hovland made a serious challenge for the Claret Jug on his last visit to British soil. He can get the win at +2000 with Caesars Sportsbook.

Shane Lowry has four top sixes at Wentworth; Matt Fitzpatrick has none. Take the Irishman to win their 72-hole match bet at +110 with bet365.

Fabrizio Zanotti has strong course/current form and can land a top 20 at +350 bet365.

The DP World Tour switches back to England this week for one of the biggest events on the calendar.

And a look at the field shows this promises to be one of the best editions in recent history.

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland and defending champion Billy Horschel have all made the trip to southern England and, controversially, so have 17 players who defected to LIV.

There would have been 18 but Martin Kaymer said he didn’t want to play in a tournament where he didn’t feel welcome.

And that’s part of the dynamic this week.

How will LIV players act to the hostility? Could they be extra determined to show they belong here just as much as anyone else (the DP Tour, unlike the PGA Tour, hasn’t imposed a ban).

Or will some of the ill-will from both spectators and even players gnaw away at them.

And how about the likes of McIlroy, who has been outspoken about LIV. Will he have extra drive or will it all prove too distracting given the other pulls on his time?

Wentworth is a tree-lined heathland track that requires course management and control from the tee all the way to the tricky bentgrass greens.

The legendary Harry Colt designed the course nearly 100 years ago although Ernie Els, a Wentworth resident, has made numerous updates in recent years.

Horschel won with 19-under last year while the previous three winning totals were -19 (Tyrrell Hatton), -20 (Danny Willett), and -17 (Francesco Molinari) so plenty of birdies are needed on recent evidence.

The odd unlikely winner has popped up but, as that above quartet proves, class acts so often come to the fore.

Both Rahm and McIlroy have been runner-up in the last few years to hammer home the point.

As for the weather, winds will be light but there could be some thundery showers on the first day.

Hovland Can Take Victory

The last time Viktor Hovland played on British soil he was making a serious bid for victory in the Open Championship at St Andrews.

Two middle rounds of 66 gave the Norwegian a piece of the 54-hole lead but a disappointing Sunday left him in fourth.

Since then, Hovland hasn’t quite been at his best but tied 20th at the WGC-St Jude Championship, tied 35th at the BMW Championship and tied 15th in the Tour Championship were decent knocks.

At East Lake last time, he got better every day, shooting 71-68-67-65.

Hovland has played here twice, finishing a very promising tied 11th on debut when new to the pro ranks.

He was tied 49th last year after jetting in from the Tour Championship but should be better prepared this time.

In addition, he’s had some excellent results when coming over to play on the DP World Tour. The obvious highlights are his wins at the BMW International Open in Germany in 2021 and the Dubai Desert Classic at the start of this year.

He won that BMW with 19-under while his three PGA Tour victories were achieved with -20, -20 and -23 so he can certainly thrive when par breakers need to come regularly.

Back him at +2000 to secure his third DP World Tour win.

Lowry Can Outscore Fitzpatrick

We landed another 72-hole match bet winner last week when +100 Richard Mansell opened with a pair of 64s at the Made in HimmerLand to take down Adri Arnaus, who missed the cut.

I’m going to take the dog again here by picking Wentworth specialist Shane Lowry to beat US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Lowry has finished outside the top 17 here just once in his last nine visits. His highlights include second place, a fourth and two sixths.

We last saw him finishing tied 12th in the BMW Championship and, after a year of near misses, it would come as no surprise if he banked a much-deserved victory this week.

Fitzpatrick has decent course form although no top sixes and Lowry would have won this bet in two of the last three years.

Brookline hero Fitzpatrick finished middle of the pack at both the BMW and the Tour Championship and his SG: Approach numbers have been average since his US Open victory.

Lowry usually thrives when playing in front of the UK crowds and gets the vote here at +110.

Zanotti for a Top 20

Fabrizio Zanotti has been a strong performer at Wentworth down the years and his numbers make him an ideal bet in the side markets.

The Paraguayan has four top 20s in his last eight appearances and prior to that three further top 25s in his previous five.

In other words, he’s always there or thereabouts.

He returns to one of his favorite tournaments in fine form after posting tied 16th (European Masters) and tied 12th (Made in HimmerLand) in the last two weeks.

Zanotti was top five for SG: Tee To Green in both so everything looks in place for him to bank a Top 20 at +350 with bet365.

BMW PGA Championship Information