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PREVIEW: Qatar Masters – 2022 DP World Tour Championship

Damien Kayat previews the Qatar Masters 2022 DP World Tour Championship taking place at Doha Golf Club.

Thorbjorn Olesen - DP World Tour - Portugal Masters
Image copyright - Steve Haag Sport

Damien Kayat previews the Qatar Masters 2022 DP World Tour Championship taking place at Doha Golf Club.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

The tour will move back to the Middle East following a three-week stint in Africa. This could be a slight change of pace following the utter birdie-fests in South Africa.

Six weeks after it was originally scheduled, the Qatar Masters returns to the DP World Tour schedule. Concerns over the Omicron variant led to the original postponement of this event. Unfortunately for tour organizers, the rescheduling has happened to coincide with the WGC Dell Technologies Match-play. This has drastically affected the quality of the line-up this week, with World Number 64 Dean Burmester the highest-ranked player in the field. Interestingly, the South African would have actually qualified for the WGC had it come one week later.

Originally founded in 1998, the Qatar Masters will return to home course Doha Golf Club this week (it moved to Education City for the last two years).

This Peter Harradine design is a true classic on the European circuit. It is your prototypical exposed desert layout. It is pretty long at a smidge over 7,400 yards.

The fairways are fairly narrow (though that is mitigated by relatively little rough). The bombers should be fancied to pick this course apart in benign conditions. But as with many desert layouts: everything boils down to the weather. Early forecasts seem to suggest fairly formidable gusts of wind over the weekend. This can lead to some pretty big numbers with water in play on seven holes.

These hazardous conditions should open up more to the links specialists who are able to mix up their ball trajectory. There is another interesting twist this year, with the Bermuda greens re-laid to Paspalum since the last renewal.

This will likely lead to slicker surfaces and slightly more difficult putting conditions.

Last week’s runner-up at the Steyn City Championship- Dean Burmester- leads the markets this week alongside Adri Arnaus. Both players are huge hitters who will look to go super-low in the early rounds.

But how will they fare when the wind starts to howl around Doha Golf Club? Of the betting favourites, I would certainly gravitate more towards Adri Arnaus (his solo 3rd at this year’s Saudi Invitational bodes well for this week). Justin Harding was the last person to win at Doha and he will embrace the more difficult conditions that are predicted this week. Pablo Larrazabal should also feel refreshed after missing the cut last week. The Spaniard won the MyGolfLife Open a fortnight ago and he was always going to struggle replicate that form.

This may not be the most glamorous of events. But it will probably make for more exciting Sunday viewing than the four match-play ties scheduled in the WGC event.

Past Winners
2021: Antoine Rozner (-8) (Education City)
2020: Jorge Campillo (-13) *playoff (Education City)
2019: Justin Harding (-13)
2018: Eddie Pepperell (-18)
2017: Wang Jeung-hun (-16) *playoff
2016: Branden Grace (-14)

Betting Favourites (To Win): Dean Burmester (18/1), Adri Arnaus (18/1), George Coetzee (20/1), Jordan Smith (22/1), Romain Langasque (28/1)

Value Bets

Pablo Larrazabal- To Win (30/1), To Place (13/2)

I’m opting for recent MyGolfLife Open winner Pablo Larrazabal. Sure, a 2nd round 73 prevented him from competing at the weekend at the Steyn City Championship. But Larrazabal should feel refreshed now and he has previously performed wonders in this part of the world. He is a previous Abu Dhabi Championship winner.

He also finished 4th in this event in 2018 (with a 15-under-par total highlighting what he can do around this course). He also comes into this event with real form under his belt. He was 6th in Saudi Arabia, 3rd at the Ras Al Khaimah and he obviously won in South Africa.

Thorbjorn Olesen- To Win (60/1), To Place (13/1)

Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Dane Thornjorn Olesen since his return from exile. The Dane was actually cut in his last two appearances at Al Hamra GC. But he’s just too talented to fail indefinitely. Olesen also has a special affinity to this golf course.

He finished 2nd here in 2016 and 3rd in 2014. He also has excellent general form in the Middle East. He has finished 2nd in Abu Dhabi and 3rd in the Dubai Desert Classic. He also has 9th and 12th place finishes at the Open, highlighting his ability to play in windy conditions.

The Man to Beat

George Coetzee- To Win (20/1), To Place (44/10)

This one is based on decent current form and ridiculous course form. In eight visits to Doha GC, he has only twice finished T12 or worse. That includes finishing T2 in 2013 and 2019.

He also finished T5 in 2014, T7 in 2016 and T8 in 2018. These are impossible figures to ignore. Coetzee is one of the best putters on tour and should adapt to the newly resurfaced green complexes better than most. He is in decent form, with top 10 finishes at the Ras al Khaimah Classic and MyGolfLife Open.

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