Our stats gurus have scoured the form books and come up with these five names you might want to consider for your Fantasy Race to Dubai side this week at the M2M Russian Open.
David Horsey
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One man travelling to Moscow in high spirits is last year’s winner, David Horsey. Twelve months ago, the Englishman claimed a dramatic victory down the road at Tseleevo Golf Club, holing out for a crucial eagle at the 17th hole to force a play-off, in which he overcame Irishman Damien McGrane for his third European Tour title. Horsey made that a quality quartet of wins at the Made in Denmark tournament two weeks ago, where some precise iron play and solid work on the greens at Himmerland proved key to his success. With plenty of water and bunkers in play at this week’s new venue, Skolkovo Golf Club, he’ll need more of the same to defend his title.
Max Kieffer
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He might not have competed in a stroke play event for six weeks, but Max Kieffer also arrives in Russia on the back of a highly impressive campaign thus far. The young German has played 20 events this season without missing a cut – more than anyone else on The European Tour – including five top ten finishes. At 46th in The Race to Dubai, currently, the general consensus is that it’s more a matter of when, rather than if, Kieffer becomes a European Tour winner. He has previous experience of playing pretty well in Russia, too, having finished tied eighth at Tseleevo in 2014.
Robert Dinwiddie
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After struggling through the first portion of the 2015 season following a return from a recurring back injury, Robert Dinwiddie’s game has looked in fine fettle of late. A tied third place back in June at the Lyoness Open in Austria showed things were starting to come together for Dinwiddie and the 32 year old Englishman has been very consistent of late with a tied tenth at the Omega European Masters preceding a tied 11th in Denmark and a fourth place last week in the Czech Republic. To exemplify the all-round health of both his bodyandhis game, Dinwiddie ranked inside the top ten in the field last week in Prague for Driving Accuracy, Greens in Regulation and Putts per GiR so stay tuned for another strong performance in Moscow.
Michael Hoey
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Victor at this very event back in 2013 – his fifth and most recent European Tour triumph – Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey is due another win. Hoey lies 77th in The Race to Dubai after a string of solid golf in 2015, in which he has made 16 cuts from 22 starts in stroke play events including a tied seventh at the BMW International Open in June, with his tied fifth at the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play last month the other notable highlight. The Ballymoney native has finished inside the top 30 in five of his last eight European Tour events and as one of the star names in the field this week, Hoey will be looking to reap more Russian rewards.
Edoardo Molinari
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In need of a big performance, the M2M Russian Open could prove the place and the time for just that for Edoardo Molinari. In the week that the race to make the 2016 European Ryder Cup team begins, fond memories of his own surge into Colin Montgomerie’s side for the 2010 transatlantic clash must be coursing through the Italian’s veins and he’ll be hoping to steal a march in the qualification process at Skolkovo while kick starting what has been an up and down season thus far. Molinari will not be starting to panic just yet, but at 146th in The Race to Dubai the two-time winner needs to hit form sooner rather than later to ensure he extends his six consecutive seasons on the top tier of European golf so why not here and now?
MAKE SURE YOU CHANGE YOUR TEAM BEFORE PLAY STARTS ON THURSDAY MORNING - Team change deadline: 05:10 GMT Thursday 10th June
