The absence of stats following the delayed conclusion of round one does make previewing the second-round three-balls at Wentworth a bit trickier, but we have to row in again with TOMMY FLEETWOOD after his lacklustre effort on Thursday.
Fleetwood seemed rattled by a couple of short missed birdie putts early on and ultimately was never at the races, but as a consequence he’s drifted from odds-on to odds-against for what still does feel like a straight match with Justin Rose.
Rose of course had his number, winning by six shots, but one round is seldom going to tell us much. Plus, for what it’s worth, Fleetwood’s longer-term advantage over Rose has been most evident in round two, which he leads by a resounding 13-3 this year. In other words, of the 16 second rounds they’ve both played, he has shot the better score 13 times.
If you do share my view that a rusty Billy Horschel shouldn’t be winning this group, siding with Fleetwood at odds-against (or evens generally) is an easy decision unless you believe that Thursday’s round is the best indication as to what to expect on Friday. I don’t.
There’s a similar argument for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen but he’s still 5/6 and at the same price, JOAQUIN NIEMANN rates a safer play on balance.
He won his three-ball on day one despite a miserable start and, following a back-nine 33, it’s reasonable to expect this world-class player to improve on his second look around Wentworth.
Padraig Harrington’s form since scrapping his way to the Senior Open has been poor and while that’s not true of Daniel Brown, he’s struggled in this event so far (51-MC).
‘A shower of s***’ was how he described his first round. “Every single shot I stood over I felt uncomfortable,” he told the DP World Tour, and that’s in keeping with the way he’s played here before.
As such, 11/4 about the double appeals as the way to play this afternoon’s matches.
Posted at 0940 BST on 12/09/25
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.