2011 OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup betting guide

The 2011 OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup starts in China tomorrow and the pre-tournament favourites are the Irish duo of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.

The US Open winners are at

3/1 to take the crown on Hainan Island at the Mission Hills Resort.

McIlroy and McDowell have a close relationship and if they get going early in this tournament and start enjoying themselves it is hard to see anyone being able to haul them back.

However, as we often see in golf, it doesn't always pay to back the favourite and that's why I think the South African duo of Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen will be the ones who go home victorious.

Oosthuizen has had a tough time of it on the course since his Open victory at St Andrews in 2010, but since the final Major of the 2011 season he has started to find his form again.

As a result he comes into this tournament off the back of five straight top ten finishes, the kind of form any golfer would be envious of.

Since Schwartzel's win in this year's US Masters, he seems to be in the mix at every tournament he enters and having competed in the Presidents Cup last weekend he will be used to playing in the team format and that could reap rewards in China. Ladbrokes have them at

6/1.

Elsewhere in the field, the English duo of Ian Poulter and Justin Rose are at

7/1 and the US pair of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland are at

8/1.

Defending champions, the Molinari brothers of Italy, are at

10/1. For once, the Molinaris aren't the only brothers competing. Colombia's team is made up of the Villegas brothers, Camilo and Manny, and if you think this pair of brothers will take the title, you can get

40/1 on them.

Germany are represented by former world number one Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka. Ladbrokes have them at

14/1 if you think they will win.

The Swedish team of Robert Karlsson and Alex Noren are at

12/1 while the Spaniards are at

14/1 with the pairing of Miguel Angel Jiminez and Alvaro Quiros.

Karlsson and Noren are a solid team and I think if you were looking for a bit of value in the each way betting, they would be my pick.

The Scottish pair of Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher also show some appeal for an each way bet at

33/1. Laird has been a consistent performer on the US Tour and Gallacher has had a couple of notable performances this year and was the right side of par in the shortened Iskandar Johor Open last weekend.

2011 OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup betting guide and tips:

1pt each way on Scotland @

33/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Sweden @

14/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts win on South Africa @

6/1 with Ladbrokes