It’s been more than a month but the European Tour is back in business this week with the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Playing opposite THE PLAYERS Championship on the PGA side, the tournament has taken a hit with the field with just a few golfers inside the world’s top 75 pegging it up at the Education City Golf Club in Doha. Thomas Pieters hit the board as the betting favorite, but his advantage could be negated by a lack of reps since COVID continues to wreak havoc with the ET schedule. The odds suggest a wide open field with plenty of value picks out there. Let’s have a look at some of the golfers and where we can find a few bucks to line our pockets. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds and to place your wager.
Odds to Win Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at BookMaker.eu
Thomas Pieters +1800
Antoine Rozner +2000
Thomas Detry +2000
George Coetzee +2500
Rasmus Hojgaard +2500
Andy Sullivan +2500
Matthias Schwab +2500
Adri Arnaus +2800
Laurie Canter +3000
Kurt Kitiyama +3300
Dean Burmester +3500
Sean Crocker +3500
Aaron Rai +3500
Joost Luiten +3500
Kalle Samooja +3500
Justin Harding +4000
Calum Hill +4000
Matthew Jordan +4000
Brandon Stone +4500
Wilco Nienaber +5000
Romain Langasque +5000
Fabrizio Zanotti +5500
Victor Dubuisson +5500
Richard Bland +6000
Marcus Armitage +6000
Chris Paisley +6000
Callum Shinkwin +6600
Alexander Levy +6600
Niklas Lemki +6600
Shaun Norris +6000
Adrian Otaegui +6600
Scott Jamieson +6600
Ross Fisher +6600
Odds Analysis
Adri Arnaus +2800
The lack of tournaments over the last month will even out the field. And with all things considered equal Arnaus stands out among just about everyone. He’s enjoyed some success in the Middle East with three finishes of T12 or better topped by a T9 at the Dubai Desert Classic. In those three events one poor round cost him a better finish and quite possibly a victory. With time to reflect on what went wrong I’m banking on the Spaniard to have a big week.
Dean Burmester +3500
If the layoff affected anyone it’s Burmester. The South African closed last year with a flurry posting two top-5s and two additional top-20s in his final five starts. His starts in the Middle East this season weren’t anything special but Burmester didn’t play poorly. He has a game that seemingly fits the Education City layout and he’s driven to not only play again but return to last season’s form.
Rasmus Hojgaard +2500
Showing that his amateur career wasn’t a fluke, Hojgaard has emerged from a mini slump to again look like the player that dominated on Tour over the summer. During a four-tournament stretch he finished no worse than T6 getting a win at the Handa UK Championship. He crashed down to earth at the end of last season, but he’s picked up the pace with several sterling performances in the Middle East, including a T9 in Dubai and a T6 in Saudi Arabia. With his game coming along so is my backing of him.
Thomas Pieters +1800
I don’t typically back the favorite since I am looking for better value on the odds. But it’s hard to pass on Pieters since he’s one of a few ET players to make the trek to the PGA side. Pieters was T21 on this course last year where he ranked among the best in the field in strokes gained: tee to green. He was T10 with a much stronger field in Saudi Arabia and most recently Pieters grabbed a top-20 in Puerto Rico while trying to stay sharp on the PGA Tour. He appears to be the class of the field and his price is inviting.
Aaron Rai +3500
If you’re looking for accuracy Rai is a guy you want. And it certainly pays to hit the ball straight on this course. It pays to do that on any track, but you get the idea. It’s been an up and down season for Rai and he hasn’t had much success on this layout, but he’s another player who competed on the PGA side during the break and had a strong showing of T18 at the WGC Workday. The field should be to his liking which will help his ascent up the leaderboard.
Course: Education City Golf Club – 7,307 yards, Par 71
Hosting for only the second time this recently constructed venue gets to show off this week. There is plenty we don’t know about Education City Golf Club. What we do know is that it opened in 2019 and is a stock par 71 desert layout designed by Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal. The distance is actually shorter than its predecessor, Doha Golf Club, but will provide new challenges since it’s still new to many in the field. At just over 7,300 yards the length isn’t overwhelming. Three par 5s measure between 530 and 590 yards with two par 4s at over 210 yards. And there are several short par 4s as well. It looks to be a scorers course with iron play being rewarded. To keep players honest there are 91 deep bunkers littered throughout with deep desert rough waiting off the fairways.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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