Part II of the European Tour’s Middle Eastern swing concludes this week with the playing of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Moved to a later date to make up the second desert trip along with Oman, a smaller purse and contending with the PGA Tour’s Florida stops has meant a weaker field, putting it in line with last week’s. That doesn’t mean we won’t see great golf and a performance like Kurt Kitayama’s comeback win last week is certainly a possibility. Kitayama will peg it up again this week with odds of +5500 to go back-to-back. Thomas Pieters finished two shots off the pace last week and opened as the betting favorite at BookMaker.eu with long odds of +905, suggesting once again that the field is wide open.
Odds to Win Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at BookMaker.eu
Thomas Pieters +905
Jordan Smith +1800
Tom Lewis +2000
Alexander Bjork +2200
Mike Lorenzo-Vera +2500
Victor Dubuisson +2500
Jorge Campillo +3000
Fabrizio Zanotti +3000
Thomas Detry +3300
Clement Sordet +3300
Ross Fisher +3300
Adrian Otaegui +3300
Aaron Rai +3500
Chris Paisley +3500
Justin Harding +4000
Pablo Larrazabal +5000
Romain Langasque +5000
Marcus Kinhult +5000
Andrea Pavan +5000
David Lipsky +5000
Chris Wood +5000
Andy Sullivan +5000
Matthias Schwab +5500
Victor Perez +5500
Kurt Kitayama +5500
Minwoo Lee +6000
Joachim B. Hansen +6000
Soren Kjeldsen +6000
Bradley Dredge +6000
Maximilian Kieffer +6000
Nicolas Colsaerts +6600
Zander Lombard +6600
Lucas Herbert +6600
Scott Jamieson +6600
Paul Waring +6600
George Coetzee +6600
Erik Van Rooyen +6600
Dean Burmester +7000
Jeff Winther +7000
Sean Crocker +7000
Brandon Stone +7000
Adri Arnaus +7000
Thomas Aiken +7000
Scott Hend +7000
Robert Rock +7500
Mikko Korhonen +7500
Matthew Southgate +8000
Gaganjeet Bhullar +8000
David Horsey +8000
Benjamin Hebert +8000
Ashley Chesters +9000
Hideto Tanihara +9000
Bernd Wiesberger +10000
David Drysdale +10000
Jaco Van Zyl +10000
Jeunghun Wang +10000
Darren Fichardt +10000
Gavin Green +10000
Peter Hanson +10000
Renato Paratore +10000
Jake McLeod +11000
Alvaro Quiros +12500
Oliver Fisher +12500
Matthieu Pavon +12500
Justin Walters +12500
Odds Analysis
Jeunghun Wang +10000
Not really sure what to expect from Mr. Wang this week, and apparently neither are the oddsmakers, who pegged the 2017 Qatar titleist as a massive underdog. Recent form has plenty to do with his standing on the odds board. He snapped a stretch of five straight missed cuts with a T60 in Perth and improved to a T45 in Oman last week. He is trending in the right direction and Wang said he’s looking forward to a return visit. He skipped his title defense last year but he appears ready to give it a shot this time. And he comes with a hefty payout.
Thomas Pieters +905
I said last week take a hard look at Pieters with his play in the desert something to consider. And he nearly came through for us with a T6, just two swings off the champion. Pieters was strong on the first swing through the Middle East and played against much stiffer competition. And his form has improved drastically. He finished T11 at the World Super 6 Perth and followed that with last week’s effort. One bad round, thanks to weather and delays perhaps, hurt his score. He carded a second-round 75, leaving him too many shots in the hole. Course form hasn’t been good, but Pieters has turned a corner with his game.
Kurt Kitayama +5500
Going back-to-back is hard to do for anyone not named Tiger Woods, so it might be wise to fade last week’s Oman champ here. But, he performed well in the wind and it’s hard to rule out anyone who has two Euro Tour titles in 11 starts. And given the field, why not go for the twofer. There’s always a sense of relief after winning a tournament and that’s what likely brings players to the edge. Even with his long odds, I have to fade Kurt this week. I don’t expect the players around him to crumble like they in Oman.
Clement Sordet +3300
The Frenchman missed the cut here last year despite two rounds under par, and he’s been playing lights out after struggling through the back end of 2018. He snared a T8 at the Vic Open and T17 at World Super 6 Perth, placing among the eight best in GIR. He was even better last week, finishing second among the field in GIR and one swing back of the winner. He was consistent last week, but he three-putted himself into a T2 on the 72nd hole, hopefully that’s an inspiration rather than a deflation.
Course: Doha Golf Course – 7,400 yards, Par 72
This is a typical links-style course with a flat, exposed layout that measures long on the distance side. Given the nature of the course, it’s not a complete surprise to see several former British Open Champions triumph here over the past few years. Water comes into play on seven holes and the four par-5s are where players can make up some ground on the leaderboard. The track is exposed to the wind, and we are expected to see gusts over the weekend that could cause some trepidation among the players. The hard fairways will lead to plenty of distance on the roll for those who keep the ball out of the gusts. The wind will be a factor otherwise sunny conditions are forecast for the tournament.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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