The European Tour returns this week with a star-studded field at the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which tees off on at 10:20 p.m. ET Tuesday. Several of the world's top-ranked golfers from the PGA and European tours will compete at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club this week in hopes of being crowned champion. Dustin Johnson enters the 2019 Abu Dhabi Championship as the Vegas favorite at 6-1, while Brooks Koepka is a close second at 9-1. Meanwhile, back-to-back champion Tommy Fleetwood is going off at 10-1 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship odds. Before locking in any 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship picks, be sure to check out the latest golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the team at SportsLine.
SportsLine's prediction model, which was built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has nailed four of the past eight majors entering the weekend and called Tiger Woods' deep run in the PGA Championship despite being a 25-1 long shot. The model has also been spot-on early in the 2018-19 PGA Tour season. It was all over Jon Rahm (12-1) at the 2018 Hero World Challenge, projecting him as a top contender from the start. It also correctly predicted Koepka's (9-1) victory at the 2018 CJ Cup earlier this season. Anyone who has followed the model is up big.
Now that the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. One huge shocker the model is calling for: Fleetwood, the back-to-back champion and one of the top Vegas favorites, falls short in his bid to three-peat.
Fleetwood is looking to join elite company this week at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Championship. Only four players have ever won the same European Tour event three times in a row: Woods, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els. Fleetwood could join that illustrious list of golfers this week with a victory at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. However, SportsLine's advanced computer says the back-to-back champion will make a strong run, but ultimately fall short of winning the title.
Another surprise: Rafa Cabrera Bello, a 33-1 long shot, makes a serious run at the title. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
Cabrera Bello is coming off a strong performance at the Honma Hong Kong Open, where he shot three rounds of 69 or better on his way to a score of 9 under par and a sixth-place finish. And he has finished in the top 15 in three of his past four starts, so expect him to make his way to the top of the Abu Dhabi Championship leaderboard.
Also, the model says five additional golfers with odds of 20-1 or longer make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big.
So who wins the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and visit SportsLine now to see the full Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship projected leaderboard from the model that nailed the winners of four golf majors.
Dustin Johnson 6-1
Brooks Koepka 9-1
Tommy Fleetwood 10-1
Henrik Stenson 16-1
Louis Oosthuizen 20-1
Tyrrell Hatton 20-1
Thomas Pieters 22-1
Thorbjorn Olesen 28-1
Branden Grace 33-1
Hao-Tong Li 33-1
Matt Wallace 33-1
Rafael Cabrera Bello 33-1
Lee Westwood 40-1
Ross Fisher 40-1
Thomas Detry 40-1
