This week is the last tournament on the Asian Tour and it finishes with the inaugural Dubai Open which is being played at The Els Club Dubai.
The course is a Par 72 and measures 7538 yards. From all reports it is a links style course with gently rolling fairways and fast undulating greens. There are plenty of bunkers on the course with some real steep ones around the greens. Course management will be a priority this week.
The bookies Top 5 this week is- $5.50 Tommy Fleetwood, $15.00 Jbe Kruger, $17.00 David Howell, $17.00 Paul Peterson and $26.00 Jake Higginbottom.
A few other notable players include $51.00 Darren Clarke, $29.00 Thaworn Wiratchant and $126.00 Jeev Milka Singh.
While Tommy Fleetwood looks to be a standout short priced favourite it is worth noting that he only needs to finish 16th or higher to make it into the 2015 Masters field. What will his mind be focussing on the most? At the current price of $5.50 he has to be a risk.
Two players who look to be ready to finish the season on a high are-
Rashid Khan $29.00 win. $3.50 Top 10. www.sportsbet.com.au
After turning pro in 2010 Khan spend three seasons on the Indian Golf Tour where he finished 3rd in 2011, 2nd in 2012 and 1st in 2013 on the Order of Merit. He is currently 10th on the Asian Golf Tour Order of Merit.
This has been his first full season on the Asian Golf Tour for the 23 year old and he is having a break out season. From 15 starts he has managed two wins already. In March he won the Sail-SBI Open and in November he took out the Chiangmai Golf Classic.
At his last start he finished t13th at the Kings Cup which was won by Thaworn Wiratchant. His last four starts have been 10th, 1st, 56th and 13th.
Stats wise he is ranked 20th in stroke average, 34th in driving distance, 21st in putting average per round and 24th in scrambling.
Expect to see this confident young man up there challenging over the weekend.
Prom Meesawat $26.00 win. $3.10 Top 10. www.sportsbet.com.au
Prom is currently 3rd on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and having a great season. From 20 starts this year he has produced 11 Top 20’s and 7 Top 10’s including a win in September at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship.
To keep the momentum going he has made four Top 10’s from his last 10 starts. The big fella is enjoying his golf this year and should be looking to finish the year on a high at the Els Club.
Head to Head Bet-
Jbe Kruger ($1.81)is paired up against David Howell ($2.00) in a tournament match bet with Sportbet.com.au.
Kruger is a stand out bet in this market when you line up the results and stats. Kruger’s last 4 starts have been 7th Chiangmai Golf Classic, 9th Manila Masters, 4th Capetown Open and 16th Alfred Dunhill Championship. Howell on the other hand has a missed cut at the Portugal Masters, 24th BMQ Masters, 48th Turkish Open and 42nd DP World Tour Championship.
Then you look at their stats for the season. Kruger is averaging 293 yards off the tee while Howell is only 274 yards. That’s a big difference on this long course. And when it comes to greens in regulation Howell is at 66.5% while Kruger is 70.11%.
Kruger comes in full of confidence with four great results and a game that suits the course. He is a stand out bet for this week.
Good luck and good punting.