McDowell closing in on Kaymer after sparkling round in Hong Kong

It may not have matched his leader’s 60 on the second day, but Graeme McDowell’s 63 in the third round of the Hong Kong Open has set tongues wagging.

Ian Poulter currently heads the Hong Kong Open leaderboard by two shots and is the 4/6 favourite to win heading into the final round.

But it is McDowell, 5/2 to win the Hong Kong Open, that has gained all the plaudits as the Ulsterman continues to chase down Martin Kaymer in the race to Dubai.

McDowell is currently €367,600 behind Kaymer in the race to be Europe’s best golfer of the year, but with the Hong Kong Open offering €301,446 to the winner, a McDowell win would see the two go head-to-head in the tour ending Dubai World Championships next week.

But with just the round to go, McDowell still has to make up two shots on Poulter, although with such low scores being posted by the leaders all week, it’s certainly not Poulter’s to lose.

Rory McIlroy, in search of the win that would break his spell of second place finishes at this tournament in the past two years, is four shots off Poulter and 7/1 to win.

But don’t discount Simon Dyson, the Englishman that flies under the radar whilst the bigger names take centre-stage.

Dyson is three shots of Poulter but is more than capable of producing a low-scoring final round having done so at consecutive tournaments just a month ago. – Dyson is 8/1 to win in Hong Kong.

Matteo Manassero continues to find himself in and around the leaders, but the Italian is six shots off the leader, although at 80/1 and Ladbrokes offering 1/3 odds for a top two finish, Manassero offers a bit of value.

A £10 e/w stake on Manassero to win at 80/1 would return £276.67 should he come second. See the full UBS Hong Kong Open betting odds here.