The battle for the Order of Merit title is set to intensify in the next few weeks with some big money events still to be decided, starting with this week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
With $5m of prize money up for grabs, this prestigious pro-am, is sure to have a big say in the destination of the money list crown, and, having backed him at 16/1, I'm hoping Lee Westwood can put last week's play-off disappointment behind him and use the Dunhill Links to catch current OOM leader Padraig Harrington. Westwood is in second place, €228,317 behind Harrington, who is Blue Square's 5/6 favourite to win the OOM for a second time.
The Dubliner is a worthy favourite but his form has tailed off since his USPGA triumph in August and I'm hopeful he can be caught, although it's a worry that Westwood looked jaded at the end of his extra-holes loss Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano at the Belfry on Sunday. Ladbrokes are clearly looking to take him on with their standout 5/2 (they are shortest on Harrington at 4/6), while they also go a tempting 14/1 on Miguel Angel Jimenez. The Spanish veteran is fourth in the money race and is teeing up this week and at next week's Madrid Masters. He's also likely to play in next month's Castello Masters, so he's not without a chance of making up the €359,947 advantage Harrington has over him.
Third-placed Robert Karlsson (8/1 Stan James) and sixth-placed Graeme McDowell (50/1 BetDirect) are also playing this week, but it's fifth-placed HENRIK STENSON who takes my eye. The Swede will be well-rested after a post-Ryder Cup week off and ready to make some serious bread in the coming weeks, and he can start off by winning the Dunhill Links, in which he has a great record- third in 2005, sixth in 2003 and eighth in 2006. What's more, he's a confirmed runner in the Castello Masters and at Valderrama, where the OOM race will be concluded on November 2nd, so he will have every chance of eating away at the current deficit €576,939.
At 16/1 with bet365, he's got to be worth an interest (or a saver at least) and is a decent back to lay proposition on Betfair. If he performs as well as I expect him to this week, he will be considerably shorter than the current 17.
Recommended Bet:
Henrik Stenson 1pt @ 16/1 bet365
