The
Trophée Hassan II
returns to The European Tour for the third time this week and having picked two of the top four in Andalucía – namely Manassero and Lynn – we are looking for more of the same in Morocco.
The Golf du Palais Royal is another tight and tricky track, which requires accurate hitting more than length from the tee, and much like Aloha last week this will play a key role in determining the victor come Sunday afternoon.
With that in mind the first man gracing your team sheet this week should be Welshman
Rhys Davies
, who, having won the inaugural staging of this event in 2010, followed that with another top draw display last year en route to losing in a play-off to Englishman David Horsey. While these displays both came on differing venues Davies fared well on the Golf du Palais Royale in 2011, our venue this week, and that should bode well. His form has been a little spotty so far, with a best finish of tenth at the Avantha Masters a month or so ago, but another top display in Morocco this week could very well ignite his game and see him push up the rankings as the season progresses.
Italy’s
Francesco Molinari
, who will no doubt have Medinah on his mind with The Ryder Cup race hotting up, who has once again been going about his business in a particularly efficient manner in 2012. While he hasn’t quite threatened at the top of the leader board as yet, he has churned out four top twenties in five starts, with a best of tied eighth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January. He currently lies 21st on the European and 22nd on the World Points lists that count towards Ryder Cup Qualification, and with that in mind, he will be looking to crank it up in the coming months to push for a second Ryder Cup berth. His game is perfectly suited to the course this week, accuracy over brute strength, and as such he could be the man with the dagger in his hand come the end of the event.
This week marks almost two months since
Robert Rock
tamed the Tiger in the Abu Dhabi desert, and while his first win at the BMW Italian Open last June sparked a slight dip in form, this most recent title seems to have invigorated the man from the Midlands and has seen him finish in the top 25 in his last three starts. Considering two of these were only the second and third World Golf Championships he had ever played in, Rock is clearly starting to believe in the game that toppled one of the game’s greats. He showed glimpses of tournament winning form last week at Aloha, and looked the man to beat at one point in round three, but having fallen away to a tie for 17th he will be looking to see it through to the finish this week in Morocco.
Finally we have another man who has shown form at this event, much like the aforementioned Rhys Davies, and that’s South Africa’s
Jaco van Zyl
. Last year was a breakout season for the man who had never held a European Tour card until 2011, having earned his place at the previous year’s Qualifying School, as he achieved five top tens on his way to finishing 50th on the Race to Dubai. So far in 2012 he seems to have continued that superb form, having already finished in the top seven on three occasions, and returns this week to a venue where he lost in a play-off last year. He will tee it up with good vibes, and after a final round 66 last week in Andalucía, he enters this event with momentum and a very strong case for victory.
These guys make up our top four, but with five changes available to managers in this year’s game, you may also want to consider Danny Willett, Joost Luiten and Grégory Havret who have all either shown form at this venue in previous years or have the game to compete this week at Golf du Palais Royal.
Whoever you choose,
login / register with My European Tour
and update your
Fantasy Race to Dubai team
before the deadline on Wednesday. Good luck.
