Dubai holds riches for Kaymer as German chases number one tag

Graeme McDowell’s incredible form over the past month means both he and Martin Kaymer enter the Dubai World Championships with a chance to be crowned Europe’s number one golfer.

Kaymer is the 1/12 favourite to win the Race to Dubai but McDowell still harbours ambitions of toppling Kaymer and is priced at 6/1 to win the Race to Dubai.

McDowell’s fifth place in Hong Kong last week leaves him €290,910 short of Kaymer in the standings and needing a top three finish in Dubai to stand a chance of being crowned number one.

But McDowell’s last six tournaments have seen him finish 3, 17, 1, 34, 3 and last week’s 5, and the Ulsterman is 14/1 to win the Dubai World Championships and 5/2 to gain a top five finish.

Kaymer took last week off and should be fresh for the final event of the European Tour season, but despite his incredible year Kaymer surrenders favouritism to Lee Westwood, 6/1 to win in Dubai, with Kaymer available at 12/1.

Kaymer and McDowell will join each other for the first two rounds after being paired together, and you can get 11/10 that McDowell shoots a better first round score than Kaymer.

With such a talented field assembling for the European Tour’s final showpiece, Kaymer and McDowell’s battle is just the sub-plot for a tournament that offers a $7.5m prize purse.

But Kaymer has the added incentive of knowing a win in Dubai could mean he ends the year as the world number one, and that extra motivation hands the German the advantage over the whole field.

If Kaymer is to win, Lee Westwood can finish no lower than second to guarantee he ends the season as the world number one.

A £10 stake on Kaymer to win the Dubai World Championships would return £130. See the full Dubai World Championships betting odds here.