Dubai Desert Classic Tournament Preview
By Tom Kennedy
From Qatar to Dubai, the European Tour makes its latest stop in the desert with best field of the season teeing it up – it promises to be a wonderful week of golf at the Emirates Course for the Dubai Desert Classic! Some of the top players in the world will battle it out this week and hopefully I can point to a potential winner.
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Rory McIlroy
Rors will undoubtedly be favourite pretty much every time he enters a tournament this season and no surprise here, on a course that he has won on before – it was in fact his first tournament win on the European Tour. Odds of 10/3 best price do seem very short though, especially when you consider the other players in the field. Not for me this week Rory, sorry!
Henrik Stenson
The super Swede remains one of the finest players in world golf, and one of those considered “the best player in the world not to have won a Major”. He loves the desert and has many wins on this type of course. Expect Henrik to be right up there when the leaders tee off on the back 9 on Sunday. Best odds of 12/1 for Stenson is good enough for me, a great each way shout!
Martin Kaymer
The usually unflappable German fell apart on the back 9 in Abu Dhabi just under 2 weeks ago but he has looking to take the positives out of an extremely impressive 63 holes, the last 9 were not too good unfortunately. He is a world class player, however, and he remains a leading contender any times he puts his tee in the ground at any tournament. Odds of 14/1 are tempting as well.
Sergio Garcia
The Spaniard remains one of the best ball strikers in the game, it is usually his short game that is the reason he does or does not contend on any given week. Expect this week to be the same. He looks good value at 22/1 but not for me these days with the everlasting question over his putting down the stretch when in contention.
Stephen Gallacher
The Scot has won twice at the Emirates Course so do not be surprised if he contends again. He beat a stellar field on both occasions and is coming off the back of his best ever season, his Ryder Cup performance aside of course (unfortunately!). Odds of 30/1 best price is quite good value.
Nicolas Colsaerts
The Belgian can bring most courses to its knees with his sheer length off the tee, the Emirates Course is definitely one where the long hitters generally come to the fore and if Colsaerts’ game kicks into the gear then expect him to mount a serious challenge. His form has not been overly great of late, reflected in odds of 50/1 best price, but I expect him to give a good account of himself this week.
That’s my 6 main contenders this week, out of those I think Henrik Stenson will claim another title in Dubai by Sunday. Some long shots to consider for those each way backers would be Alexander Levy at 60/1 and Tyrrell Hatton at 100/1 while Javier Ballesteros is the golfing dreamer’s choice for the week – at 2,000/1 with some bookmakers it seems unlikely but that’s what is great about golf! Enjoy watching the golf this week, I can’t wait for the finish in the desert on both tours!
Next: Fantasy Sleeper Picks For The Omega Dubai Desert Cassic