BMW PGA Championship: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Rory McIlroy is set to go off as favourite for the BMW PGA Championship despite slipping to second in the closing stages of last week’s Irish Open and the Racing Post's Ian Wilkerson has picked out his three best bets for the big tournament at the Wentworth’s West Course, which begins on Thursday.

Ian Wilkerson's BMW PGA Championship betting tips and predictions

Matteo Manassero - 35/1

McIlroy’s two late bogeys at the Irish Open allowed Rasmus Hojgaard to storm to victory at Royal County Down last week and although the world number three is a former Wentworth winner, that disappointment may have left its mark psychologically and he looks a short price.

The same could be said of perennial challenger Tommy Fleetwood, who has the ball-striking ability to tame the West Course, but has posted just two top-ten finishes in 12 attempts to win this tournament.

So there looks to be some stronger value further down the list and one player who stands out is Italy’s Matteo Manassero. He was just 16 when he finished 13th at the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry and he enjoyed his finest hour when he won this tournament in a playoff four years later.

However, his apparent elevator to greatness came to a shuddering halt and he fell back onto the Alps and then the Challenge Tours to earn a living out of playing the game.

But he has climbed his way out of that pit and this year has been a strong contender since winning the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa in March. Manassero is on the verge of regaining a place in the world’s top 100 after finishing fifth at the Indian Open, seventh at the KLM Open, tenth at the Italian Open, sixth at the British Masters and third at Royal County Down last week.

With a strong tee-to-green game and the ability to gain strokes with his approach shots, he has the skills to triumph again at Wentworth and could be inspired at the scene of his biggest win.

Jordan Smith - 55/1

Jordan Smith is just one place above Manassero at 100 in the world rankings and the Englishman heads into this week’s tournament in decent form.

Four solid rounds helped him to a tie for seventh last week and that followed a 12th spot at the European Masters in Switzerland when his effort was curtailed by a third-round 77 - he shot 66, 65 and 67 in the other three rounds.

Smith posted a similar result at the British Masters at The Belfry the week before that and he is the best player in the tour’s greens-in-regulation statistics, which should stand him in good stead for this weekend and see him improve on his best Wentworth finish of 13th four years ago.

Bernd Wiesberger - 60/1

Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger continues to perform consistently well after returning to the DP World Tour from LIV Golf at the start of the year.

Even though he was 63rd at Royal County Down, that was only the fourth time in his last 15 tournaments that he has failed to finish in the top 25.

Another who has a strong tee-to-green game, he should flourish at Wentworth so long as he can get his putter going and Wiesberger, who was runner-up at the European Open in June, looks to have a decent chance of posting his ninth DP World Tour victory in one of its biggest events.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.