Steve Palmer's Qatar Masters predictions & free golf betting tips + a £40 free bet

When to bet on the Qatar Masters

The Qatar Masters takes place from Thursday, October 26 to Sunday, October 29, so you’ll want to place your bets well ahead of schedule.

Make sure to place your bets on the Qatar Masters by 4am on Thursday, October 26.

It’s also worth noting that Paddy Power are offering a £40 free bet that you can grab here ahead of the event.

Where can I watch the Qatar Masters

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 9am on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Qatar Masters predictions

Thorbjorn Olesen
3pts each-way 20-1 Betfair, Power

Robert MacIntyre
2.5pts each-way 28-1 Betfair, Power

Matthieu Pavon 
2pts each-way 33-1 general

Wilco Nienaber
1pt each-way 50-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Gavin Green
1pt each-way 50-1 BoyleSports, Hills

Click here to add Steve's selections to your Paddy Power betslip

You can bet on the Qatar Masters here and get £40 in golf free bets from Paddy Power

Steve Palmer's Qatar Masters preview

Bookmakers are struggling to identify a favourite for the Qatar Masters, with Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith, Alexander Bjork, Rasmus Hojgaard and others available around the 20-1 mark.

This is the last regulation DP World Tour event of the season, with the big guns saving themselves for the Nedbank Challenge and the DP World Tour Championship. Players who are struggling to retain their DPWT card know they need to get into the top 116 of the Race to Dubai standings after the Qatar Masters.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Thorbjorn Olesen 20-1

Layers disagree over who should be perched atop the Qatar Masters betting, but the case for Thorbjorn Olesen is strong. The 33-year-old Dane is a seven-time DPWT champion who could be fancied to take his chance against anyone in this field down the Doha stretch on Sunday.

Olesen cruised to a four-shot victory in the Thailand Classic in February, having gone off at a similar price to the one against his name this week, and a second success of the season would come as no surprise.

The former Ryder Cup star has been in solid nick lately, finishing tenth in the French Open, 17th in the Spanish Open and ninth in the Andalucia Masters. He opened with a 73 in Andalucia, but played beautifully over the final three rounds.

Thunderbear, as he is known, is a proven desert rat. He was second in the 2013 Abu Dhabi Championship, third in the 2013 Dubai Desert Classic, third in the 2014 Qatar Masters at Doha, fifth in the 2014 Desert Classic, second in the 2016 Qatar Masters at Doha and fourth in the Ras al Khaimah Championship in February.

Olesen finished 12th at Doha last year and even better can be expected in the relatively calm conditions of this week. The lack of wind means Olesen should be able to find plenty of fairways, allowing him to score through his strengths of iron-play and putting.

Next best bet

Robert MacIntyre 28-1

The highest-ranked player in the field is Robert MacIntyre, so it was a surprise to see him open up at 33-1 in places this week. The Scot enjoyed a huge confidence boost from his Ryder Cup appearance just under a month ago and that extra layer of self-belief should stand him in great stead the next time he contends for a title.

MacIntyre went undefeated through his three matches at the Ryder Cup, beating US Open champion Wyndham Clark in the singles, leaving the Marco Simone in euphoric mood. Having worked his socks off to gain automatic Ryder Cup qualification, it was wonderful to see his Team Europe debut unfold in such dreamy fashion.

There has been an understandable Ryder Cup hangover since – 25th in the Dunhill Links followed by 26th in the Andalucia Masters – but the left-hander should be ready to rumble this week. He finished 31st in his only previous Doha visit – in 2019 when ranked 246th in the world.

MacIntyre returns to Doha as world number 57 and highly motivated. The top ten on the Race to Dubai at season's end will earn PGA Tour cards and he is in position to claim one. He won a Mena Tour event in Kuwait in 2017 and enjoys his trips to the Middle East.

Other selections

Matthieu Pavon 33-1
Wilco Nienaber 50-1
Gavin Green 50-1

Matthieu Pavon produced a hugely impressive frontrunning performance to make his DPWT breakthrough in the Spanish Open the week before last, and a quickfire follow-up on Sunday seems entirely feasible.

The Frenchman had an understandable hangover in round one of the Andalucia Masters last week, carding a 74, but he rocketed up to ninth over the final three rounds. He was sixth in the Dunhill Links prior to his victory and has given himself a sniff of a PGA Tour card through the RTD.

South Africans have a great record at Doha – Darren Fichardt, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Branden Grace and Justin Harding are on the honours board – and Wilco Nienaber is capable of joining them. The 23-year-old, a winner on the Challenge Tour, finished second in the Abu Dhabi Challenge on that circuit in April, then followed up with fourth place in the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

Back-to-back weekend rounds of 66 hauled Nienaber up to 17th in the Spanish Open last time out. He was 12th at Doha last year and can go even better this time.

Complete the attack with Gavin Green, who carded a 27-under-par total in the Portugal Masters last year and was unlucky not to make a DPWT breakthrough. The Malaysian was also runner-up in the 2017 Indian Open and last year's Czech Masters. He was third in the 2020 Saudi International.

Green arrived at Doha last year in terrible form and opened with a 77, but he outscored everybody in the field over the final 54 holes to finish fifth. With five top-tens in the last eight months, this looks a golden opportunity.

Course guide for the Qatar Masters

• Course Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar
• Prize money $3.75m ($625,125 to the winner)
• Length 7,466 yards
• Par 72 – four par-fives, ten par-fours, four par-threes
• Field 132 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Robert MacIntyre (57), Aaron Rai (67), Jordan Smith (75), Alexander Bjork (77), Pablo Larrazabal (78)

• Course records - 72 holes 268 Paul Lawrie (1999), Adam Scott (2008); 18 holes 61 Adam Scott (2008)
• Course winners taking part Darren Fichardt, Alvaro Quiros, Jeunghun Wang, Eddie Pepperell, Ewen Ferguson
• When to bet By 4am on Thursday
  

• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 9am on Thursday
  
• Time difference Qatar is two hours ahead of the UK and Ireland
• Last week – Andalucia Masters 1 A Meronk (20-1), 2 M Schmid (80-1), 3 R Mansell (55-1), T4 L De Jager (150-1), C Hanna (400-1), 6 J Winther (125-1), T7 M Siem (55-1), J W Ko (400-1)
  
• Course type Desert
  
• Course overview Doha has been the traditional home of the Qatar Masters, staging the inaugural edition in 1998, then every year until 2020 – when Education City Golf Club took over for two years. Doha resumed hosting duties last year for a windy event which produced the worst winning total in the tournament's history (seven under par). The Qatar Masters has been played in either January, February or March every year, so this is the first October gathering. The weather is crucial at Doha, an exposed track which can be bullied by big-hitters under calm skies, but becomes much more testing in a breeze
  
• Story of last year Ewen Ferguson edged Chase Hanna by a shot for his maiden DP World Tour title
  
• Weather forecast Sunny and hot all week, temperatures peaking at 34C. Calm mornings followed by gentle afternoon breezes. A thunderstorm threat on Thursday
  
• Type of player suited to the challenge With calm weather forecast for the duration of the event, attacking big-hitters seem likely to dominate. The likes of Adam Scott and Alvaro Quiros have made mincemeat of Doha in the past
  
• Key attribute Power

Steve Palmer's Qatar Masters key stats

Six of the last 18 Doha champions have been South African

Grab a £40 Paddy Power free bet on the 2023 Qatar Masters

We’ve already mentioned that Paddy Power are offering a £40 free bet to place on all of the golf action at the event.

Here’s where you can follow these simple steps to grab your £40 free bet to place on Steve Palmer’s 2023 Qatar Masters tips… it's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Paddy Power through this link and click the Join button on their homepage
2. Create your username and password
3. Make a deposit of £10 or more using a card & place a bet on a sportsbook market with odds of 1-2 or greater
4. You will be rewarded with £40 of free bet tokens added to your balance

Paddy Power golf Qatar Masters betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new golf betting signup offer before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of the Qatar Masters free bets and what's expected of you as a new customer.

• New UK & ROI customers only
• Minimum deposit £10 bet at minimum odds of 1-2 to qualify 
• Get £40 in free bets, valid for 30 days
• SMS verification required
• Bets placed on Greyhound racing markets are excluded
• Only deposits via cards will qualify

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