The European Tour will stage two events this week with the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship kicking things off on Wednesday from the Jumeirah Golf Estates. The event will get players acclimated to their surroundings ahead of next week’s season ending DP World Tour Championship, which will be held at the same venue but on a different course. This week the ET’s best will attack the Fire Course, which most feel is the easier of the two layouts. The top of the odds board is congested with five players offered at 18/1 or better. Leading the pack are Bernd Wiesberger and Robert McIntyre, who hit the board as co-favorites. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds and to place your wager.
Odds to Win Golf in Dubai Championship at BookMaker.eu
Bernd Wiesberger +1200
Robert MacIntyre +1200
Martin Kaymer +1400
Matt Wallace +1800
Thomas Detry +1800
Thomas Pieters +2000
Andy Sullivan +2200
Aaron Rai +2200
Danny Willett +2500
Adri Arnaus +2500
Sami Valimaki +2500
Rasmus Hojgaard +3500
Tom Lewis +3500
Adrian Otaegui +3500
Callum Shinkwin +3500
Marcus Armitage +3500
Matthew Jordan +4000
Eddie Pepperell +4000
Mike Lorenzo-Vera +4500
Alexander Levy +4500
Jordan Smith +5000
Sam Horsfield +5000
Sean Crocker +5000
Romain Langasque +5000
Renato Paratore +5000
Antoine Rozner +5000
Wil Besseling +5000
Marcus Kinhult +5500
Gavin Green +5500
Thorbjorn Olesen +5500
Jazz Janewattananond +6000
Paul Waring +6500
Fabrizio Zanotti +6500
Robert Rock +7000
Benjamin Hebert +7000
Alexander Bjork +7000
Mikko Korhonen +7000
Jorge Campillo +7000
Guido Migliozzi +7000
Haotong Li +7000
Kalle Samooja +7000
Joakim Lagergren +7000
Ross Fisher +8000
David Horsey +8000
Sebastian Heisele +8000
Nicolas Colsaerts +9000
Marc Warren +9000
Odds Analysis
Rasmus Hojgaard +3500
After blazing onto the Tour with four top-6s in a four start span over the summer, Hojgaard has cooled off a bit. His recent struggles coupled with some hard times in the Middle East dropped him down the odds board. But it’s hard to overlook what he accomplished just a few months ago winning the UK Championship, taking runner-up at the British Masters, third at the English Championship and T6 at the Hero Open. Hopefully the young Dane learned from his mistakes in the desert and is ready to get back to previous form. He’s offered at a good price in a field that isn’t deep.
Guido Migliozzi +7000
Migliozzi is another risk/reward play. Recent form hasn’t been anything special and outside of a T4 at the Oman Open in February he’s struggled in the Middle East. But, he’s been playing this course a lot lately and should have a slight advantage over the rest of the field because of it. He’s one of the more accurate drivers on Tour and he hits the ball nearly 307 yards on average off the tee. If the putter gets hot the Italian could have a fun week with a nice payout.
Thorbjorn Olesen +5500
Olesen is looking to regain the form he flashed before his unfortunate arrest last year. He was a member of Europe’s Ryder Cup winning squad and climbed inside the top-50 of the world rankings before being shelved by the European Tour for his transgressions. He’s had mixed results since being reinstated and missed the cut last time out at the gimmicky Cyprus Open, though he played well. Now he returns to a part of the world he’s enjoyed playing over his career. He’s always fancied desert golf and has been in contention a number of times in the area. Olesen is certainly worth the risk.
Andy Sullivan +2200
Looking past the first tier of favorites I find recent champion Sullivan floating around at a reasonable price. Again the field isn’t deep and there are plenty of options out there. Sullivan ended a nearly five year title drought with a 7-shot romp at the English Championship with a pair of top-10s since. Recent results would have been much better if not for a closing 76 at the Cyprus Open, which dropped him down the leaderboard after three red numbers. He’s no stranger to Dubai, either, having finished runner-up twice.
Sami Valimaki +2500
Valimaki is looking to make up for some late collapses in Cyprus that saw him drop down the leaderboard. Still, he finished T6 at the Open and 18th at the Showdown, so his game hasn’t completely left him. The young Finn burst onto the scene earlier this year with a win at the Oman Open in just his sixth Tour start and he’s been consistently good. The Fire Course should be to his liking and the price is reasonable for a former champion.
Course: Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates - 7,480-yards, Par-72
Jumeirah Golf Estates has hosted the DP World Tour Championship the past 11 years, so many in the field are familiar with the venue. However, they are playing the Fire Course this week, which is widely considered the easier of the two tracks. Just like the Earth Course it’s a Greg Norman design that opened in 2010 measuring nearly 7,500 yards. Big hitters can thrive with easy to find fairways and oversized greens. And there are few hazards to get in the way. It’s a stock par 72 with four par 3s and four par-5s. Several of the par-4s are short giving players a chance to make up scores along the way. Overall it’s a course the pros should have no problem with considering we’ve seen them demolish the tougher Earth Course.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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