There will be 12 players from the breakaway LIV Golf League playing at next week’s Masters at Augusta but first there is a full-field event to negotiate at Trump International Doral in Miami this week.
Jon Rahm, who was fourth at the venue last year, is vying for favouritism with Joaquin Niemann, who has won two of the circuit’s four events this year, and there are a host of other competitors who will also fancy their chances of claiming the big prize.
talkSPORT BET welcome offer – Get £20 in free bets*
LIV Miami betting tips
Abraham Ancer to win @ 22/1
Doral is a long course measuring 7,701 yards, but Mexico’s Abraham Ancer performed well enough to suggest he can be a factor this week when he was ninth in last year’s tournament, which was the first individual LIV battle after the track had previously twice hosted the end-of-season team event.
Ancer recovered well from an opening 73 on that occasion and he has been a pretty constant presence at the top end of LIV leaderboards over the last six months or so.
He completed his 2024 commitments with finishes of 16-13-11 and after recovering from a 42nd spot in this year’s opening get-together in Riyadh, he was second to Niemann in Adelaide, finished with two 65s to claimed 12th spot in Hong Kong and was then a highly respectable tenth in Singapore in the most recent gathering.
It seems likely that, unlike last year, he will be able to hit the ground running and can build the foundation for a solid bid for glory.
Dean Burmester to win @ 20/1
Dean Burmester has not got a Masters invite but he should be gunning for glory in what he hopes will be a successful defence of his Miami crown.
The big-hitting South African came out on top in a play-off with Sergio Garcia 12 months ago and heads into this week in excellent order.
Burmester was fourth in Riyadh and second in Hong Kong on tracks that do not really play to his strengths but this week’s examination is much more up his street.
If any of his rivals become distracted by thoughts of Augusta, he looks ideally placed to take advantage.
Dustin Johnson to win @ 35/1
Dustin Johnson’s 2020 Masters victory means he will never have to worry about an Augusta invitation and he looks to be coming into some good form at exactly the right time.
The former world number one put in his best LIV performance for 14 months when he was fifth in the last tournament in Singapore.
His opening 63 was the best round of the week and he heads to a course where he has decent memories.
Doral previously hosted the WGC Cadillac Championship and Johnson has form figures of 4-1-14 from efforts between 2014 and 2016. Another strong showing at Doral would not be a complete surprise.
talkSPORT BET welcome offer – Get £20 in free bets*
*18+ New customers only. Opt in & bet £10+ via mobile on any sports at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 4x £5 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly
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 websites.
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org
