The European Tour schedule will continue with the Dubai Desert Classic this week. While Dustin Johnson elected to miss this tournament, the field for this event is absolutely loaded with a number of big names set to headline. Rory McIlroy’s name is at the top of the list when it comes to the sports betting favorites to win this tournament. Meanwhile, Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood and the defending champion Sergio Garcia will all be on hand.
Even so, the majority of the golf world will be focused on the PGA Tour and the Farmers Insurance Open. That’s because Tiger Woods is back in the field and is coming off an event where he looked fairly strong. This event seems like it should be much more entertaining to golf fans but the casual fans are sure to be tuned into to Torrey Pines. Here is a look at what to expect at the Dubai Desert Classic this week.
Event Details
Event: Dubai Desert Classic
Category: European
Date: January 25-28, 2018
Location: Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE
Garcia produced one of the best Sundays of his career at last year’s Dubai Desert Classic when he rallied for the victory in the final round. There will be some familiar faces looking to take him down this time around including a healthy Stenson, who has come close to winning a number of times since winning this event back in 2007.
Past Five Winners
2017: Sergio Garcia -19
2016: Danny Willett -19
2015: Rory McIlroy -22
2014: Stephen Gallacher -16
2013: Stephen Gallacher -22
What To Know About The Course
Garcia ranked fourth in Driving Distance when he won this tournament a year ago. That will be an important statistic to keep an eye on this week, especially with Garcia looking to repeat here. While strong numbers hitting it off the tee are extremely important, it’s also important to consider the Greens In Regulation statistics recorded over the years. Nine of the last 12 Dubai Desert Classic winners ranked inside the top-five in GIR so that is an important number to keep in mind this weekend.
The Field
McIlroy is the sports betting favorite at +500 odds with some sportsbooks listing him at +450. Garcia is next in line at +800 odds as he attempts to successfully defend his title at the Emirates Golf Club. Meanwhile, Stenson is listed at +1100 odds followed by Tommy Fleetwood at +1100 and Matthew Fitzpatrick at +1800 odds. Tyrell Hatton, Branden Grace and Ross Fisher round out the list of notable names competing in this week’s tournament.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Henrik Stenson over Rory McIlroy
While McIroy’s presence will be talked about a lot this week he will be in tough to produce a better result than Stenson, who has consistently performed at a high level in this tournament. Stenson was the runner-up here last year after Garcia finished the event on fire with a dominant final round that allowed him to clinch a three-stroke win. In fact, he even finished sixth in this tournament back in 2016 when he was dealing with a hand injury. Stenson has all of the tools to dominate at the Emirates Golf Club this week. Considering he is healthy and playing at a high level, Stenson should be able to deliver another strong performance and place ahead of McIlroy as an excellent value pick to win this head-to-head sports betting matchup.
Top-Five Pick: Sergio Garcia
Garcia is attempting to both successfully defend his title at this tournament and win back-to-back tournaments after clinching a win in Singapore last week. Garcia has never successfully defended a title but that doesn’t mean he won’t finish in the top-five this week. Garcia is playing at an extremely high level right now so look for him to deliver another exceptional performance and finish in the top-five at the very least in the Dubai Desert Classic this week.
2018 Odds To Win Dubai Desert Classic
Rory McIlroy +450
Sergio Garcia +805
Henrik Stenson +1050
Tommy Fleetwood +1050
Matthew Fitzpatrick +1480
Tyrrell Hatton +2050
Branden Grace +2050
Thomas Pieters +2050
Ross Fisher +2250
Rafs Cabrera Bello +2550
Bernd Wiesberger +3050
Louis Oosthuizen +3050
Pat Perez +3250
Martin Kaymer +3550
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +4550
Thorbjorn Olesen +5050
Byeong Hun An +5500
Dylan Frittelli +5050
Paul Dunne +6550
Joost Luiten +6550
Stephen Gallacher +6550
Alexander Levy +5500
Chris Paisley +7050
Ian Poulter +7550
Andy Sullivan +7550
Lee Westwood +7550
Thomas Detry +8550
Haotong Li +8550
Jeunghun Wang +9050
George Coetzee +9050
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