Golfwise Extra: Clinical Kaymer value to triumph

STORY SO FAR

LEE WESTWOOD has played in the Dubai Desert Classic since 1994 without winning the tournament, but the Englishman is in pole position to claim glory at the Emirates Club this week.

Westwood upstaged Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and other stars during the third round of the final event on the European Tour's Middle East Swing, shooting 67 to go one shot clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Stephen Gallacher, Marcel Siem and Rafael Cabrera-Bello are a trio of pre-tournament outsiders tied for second place, while McIlroy, Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn are lurking just off the pace.

LEADERBOARD

-15 Lee Westwood
-14 Stephen Gallacher, Marcel Siem, Rafael Cabrera-Bello
-13 Joel Sjoholm, Scott Jamieson, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy
-12 Ben Curtis, Thomas Bjorn, George Coetzee

BEST PRICES

7-4 L Westwood, 4 R McIlroy, 6 M Kaymer, 12 R Cabrera-Bello, 14 S Gallacher, M Siem, 16 T Bjorn, 30 S Jamieson, 33 G Coetzee, 40 J Sjoholm, 50 bar.

TODAY'S ADVICE

LEE WESTWOOD has never managed to get over the winning line in front in the Dubai Desert Classic, but his majestic driving has given him a great chance of topping the charts on Sunday. The Worksop Wonder could have been well clear with a bit more luck on the greens during round three.

Thomas Bjorn will be regretting three bogeys in his final four holes, while Rory McIlroy will be disappointed over an increasingly poor record in round threes, leaving Westwood in command.

Stephen Gallacher, Marcel Siem, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Joel Sjoholm and Scott Jamieson have not been in serious contention for a while, and with so much quality on the leaderboard, one of the big names seems likely to succeed.

Pick of the prices with 18 holes to play is definitely Martin Kaymer, who obliterated a much better field than this with a barnstorming final-round 63 in WGC-HSBC Champions at the end of last season.

The German winning machine, who is just two shots off the pace, has won in the desert three times on the European Tour (Abu Dhabi Championship) and has threatened at the Emirates on several occasions.

Westwood and McIlroy can boast phenomenal consistency in the last few years, but victories usually elude them. Kaymer is the most clinical when in contention.

Robert Rock has struggled this week to get anywhere near the form
which won him the Abu Dhabi Championship, while Edoardo Molinari is struggling with a wrist injury, so Gregory Havret is an outsider with a big chance.

Outright recommendation

M Kaymer, 3pts 6-1 general

Threeball recommendation

G Havret, 1pt 11-5 Ladbrokes