RORY MCILROY has the chance to erase a rare blot on his record this week, and clinch the European money list for a sixth time with a week to spare.

If McIlroy finally wins the Abu Dhabi Championship he will take an unassailable lead going into the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, and will equal Seve Ballesteros as a six time European champion. 

It might not even take a victory in Abu Dhabi for the Northern Irishman to sew things up, depending on where nearest rivals Thriston Lawrence and Ramus Hojgaard finish.

A near-miss could be enough – which should be reassuring for McIlroy considering he has racked up three runner-up finishes and four thirds in Abu Dhabi without actually winning!

He will be determined to do it in style with a long-overdue victory here – and if you are willing to take 5-1 on him getting over the line, you are pretty much guaranteed a good run for your money.

Free bet offers from our partners

• William Hill: Get your £60 in free bets when you stake a tenner – CLAIM HERE*
• Betfred: Get £50 football welcome bonus when you bet £10 – CLAIM HERE*
• BetMGM: Get £40 in free bets – CLAIM HERE*
• talkSPORT BET: Bet £10 and get £30 in free bets – CLAIM HERE*

****************************************************************

Golf tips

It needs to be pointed out though that all of Rory’s close things in this event came at the Abu Dhabi golf club, which was replaced as the host venue by Yas Links two years ago.

McIlroy finished 12th at Yas in 2022, and did not play here last year. It is a quirky course, another one of those unsuccessful attempts to manufacture a links course on ground that is not really suited to the purpose.

Tyrrell Hatton memorably said he’d like to “drop a bomb” on the par five finishing hole after taking a seven and a nine there in 2022 – before making a birdie in the final round on his way to a share of sixth.

Hatton returned last year and finished joint seventh after closing with a brilliant 65. He is back for more this time – and at 13-2 he could be the player to deny McIlroy that eagerly-awaited victory.

Hatton’s third Dunhill Links triumph a few weeks ago showed he is as hungry as ever, despite accepting a multi-million offer from LIV at the start of the year.

Adam Scott showed a liking for this course with a top ten finish in 2022, only a shot behind Hatton despite a poor final round. At 25-1, the veteran Aussie looks a decent each way bet.

Sebastian Soderberg and Min Woo Lee finished joint runners-up here last year behind Viktor Perez – who is too far down the money list to earn the right to defend his title in what is now an elite, 70-man, no cut event.

Lee is brilliant on  his day, but the 25-1 shot has not had many of those days recently. At 70-1 Soderberg looks a more attractive proposition to reproduce last year’s form.

Shubhankar Sharma also has the course form to suggest his 110-1 quote is pretty generous – he finished second two years ago and was seventh in 2023 – while Andalucia Masters runner-up Jorge Campillo deserves respect at 66-1.

****************************************************

The PGA Tour’s offering this week, the World Wide Technology shoot-out in Mexico, is desperately short on star quality, with rookie Max Greyserman heading the market at 16-1.

Greyserman’s share of second place at the Zozo in Japan a couple of weeks ago was his third runner-up finish of the year, and he has climbed to 40th in the world rankings. So he is a worthy favourite in this company.

But could this be the week when 2022 Open runner-up Cameron Young finally gets that elusive first PGA Tour victory? At 22-1, it might be worth backing him to shed the bridesmaid tag.

Harris English has been knocking on the door and can be backed at 25-1, while Cameron Champ makes most appeal of the outsiders at around 80-1.

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chase their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org

For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling website

*William Hill. 18+. Play Safe. New players only, using promo code T60. Valid from 13/04/2022. Online play. Get £60 Bonus split between Vegas & Sports in the following manner – (i) Deposit £10 to unlock £20 Vegas Free Bet on Selected Games (72hr expiry, wagering reqs apply); then (ii) bet £10+ (odds 1/2+) with cash (excl. £10 deposit) or Vegas winnings (after wager reqs met). Once settled, receive £40 Sports Free Bets excluding Virtual Markets (4x £10, 7 days expiry). Payment methods & country restrictions apply. Full T&Cs apply.

*Betfred: New customers only. Register with BETFRED50. Deposit £10+ via Debit Card and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. T&Cs apply.

*BetMGM. *New customers only. 7 days to place qualifying bet of £10+ at 1/1 (2.0) to receive 4 x £10 Free Bets: 1 x £10 Acca, 1 x £10 Horse Racing, 1 x £10 Football, 1 x £10 Bet Builder. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. T&Cs apply. 18+ BeGambleAware.org.

*18+ New customers only. Opt in & bet £10+ via mobile on any sports at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 3x £10 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs apply, click for T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly

With welterweight champion Belal Muhammad sidelined by a foot infection, the UFC is scrambling to find a new main event for the final pay-per-view of 2024. Top-ranked contender Shavkat Rakhmonov is calling for an interim title fight and naming Kamaru Usman as a perfect opponent for the Dec. 10 card.

While the fight itself makes sense based on availability, and the resumes for the two fighters involved, Muhammad immediately pushed back about the interim title considering he just won the belt in July, and he’s only expected to be out of action for approximately six weeks while receiving treatment on his foot. Veteran UFC welterweight Matt Brown understands the necessity to fill the void left by Muhammad’s absence at UFC 310, but as much as he enjoys the potential Rakhmonov vs. Usman fight, he just doesn’t see a need for an interim title.

“I think we all know at least it’s not a title,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Belal has the f*cking title. He’ll be back soon. He’s going to fight the winner. This is a title contender match. Great.

“It’s a great fight. I’m stoked to see the fight. I’m just as stoked to see Shavkat and Usman as I would be for Shavkat and Belal, except it would be for the actual title with Belal.”

In recent years, the UFC has started introducing interim titles more often out of necessity to build up a pay-per-view than because a reigning champion isn’t able to defend the real belt for a significant amount of time.

In 2023, Jon Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that cancelled his fight against Stipe Miocic, and in his absence, the UFC booked an interim title bout between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich instead. Aspinall won, but he won’t get the chance to unify the belts, because the UFC moved forward with rebooking Jones against Miocic.

Just months after Francis Ngannou won the heavyweight title, the UFC needed to find a main event for a card slated in August, but with the champion unable to make a quick turnaround, the promotion introduced an interim title for the fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis.

Brown understands that the UFC must have some sort of internal research that shows fans are more apt to buy a pay-per-view card headlined by a title fight, but that doesn’t change the fact that more often than not, crowning an interim champion just isn’t necessary.

“They usually do that because they need to sell the pay-per-view and put a title on it, right?” Brown said. “I feel Usman would be selling PPV’s. We all know who Usman is. We all want to watch Usman fight. I don’t think putting a title in front of that fight really changes the dynamic of that fight. I get why they would do it, and I understand the logic behind it and maybe it makes it a bigger fight, but I don’t see why you can’t keep it five rounds and just say it’s not for the title.

“Unfortunately, it kind of diminishes what an interim title is. This is probably a stronger case for that than we’ve even seen in the past. We’ve had our own qualms for what they’ve done with these interim titles, but this one’s probably got to be one of the worst instances we’ve seen, right?”

It remains to be seen if the UFC pulls the trigger on an interim title, but Brown admits that’s really the risk you take when a promotion yields this much power.

On one side, the UFC has the ability to book the biggest and best fights available — an issue that has plagued a sport like boxing for decades — but that can also result in decisions like this really coming down to dollars rather than making the most sense.

“The blessings and the curses of having one company rule everything,” Brown said about the UFC. “We talk about Dana [White] taking over boxing, and we know the messes that you have in boxing all the time, but there’s sort of the blessing and the curse. They can just do that. It’s their company. They can do whatever the f*ck they want.

“The problem is there’s just no set rule set. There’s no guidelines. Like if you’re out for six months, we’re doing an interim title. There’s nothing like that for the rankings like the No. 1 guy’s going to get the next shot. If there was a set guideline, I think that would fix a lot of things.”

Like it or not, Brown says the UFC needs to sell pay-per-views, and if Rakhmonov vs. Usman with an interim title up for grabs gets a few more buys, then that’s almost certainly what’s going to happen.

“That’s the blessing and the curse of it being a business and being that it’s a private business, they’re out there to try to make money,” Brown said. “The curse is they do whatever the hell they want. You get these different interim titles.”

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

KEVIN HARVICKS HAPPY HOUR

Trending

NFL

NCAAFB

NBA

NASCAR

MLB

NCAABK

MLS

EPL

PGA

The Southern League Premier Central club have never faced an English Football League (EFL) side in a competitive match.

They beat fellow non-league team Tonbridge Angels 4-1 on Saturday in the Bees’ first appearance in the FA Cup first round.

Post-match celebrations in Kent were euphoric on Saturday, and those scenes were matched a day later at the Bees’ clubhouse in Market Harborough when players, staff and supporters watched live as they were drawn against Reading.

“It was bouncing in there – we are all over the moon. What a draw. It’s special,” Daire told BBC Radio Leicester.

“When Reading came out, it was just joy. And now, you can tell with my voice, I’m like a kid at Christmas, I’m so excited.”

“We have done what we needed to around the local leagues, and we wanted the big test against a League One team where we can go out there and test ourselves and enjoy it.”

The FA Cup second round will be played between Friday, 29 November and Monday, 2 December 2024.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has returned to full training after two months out with an ankle injury.

The Norway midfielder, 25, has been out since September, missing 12 games, after damaging his ankle ligaments on international duty.

He trained with the Arsenal squad before Wednesday’s Champions League game at Inter Milan.

Arsenal have picked up just one point out of a possible nine in their last three Premier League games after losses to Newcastle and Bournemouth and a hard-fought draw against Liverpool.

Arsenal struggled to create clear-cut chances against Newcastle and having their leader and one of their main creative outlets back will be a big boost.