Steve Palmer's Dubai Desert Classic preview, best bets, free golf tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on the European Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 4am Thursday

Best bets

Tommy Fleetwood
4pts each-way 15-2 Betway
Thomas Pieters
2pts each-way 33-1 Sky Bet
Victor Perez
2pts each-way 28-1 Betfair, Power
Brandon Stone
1pt each-way 125-1 Sky Bet

Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay have headed home to the United States, the dynamic duo skipping the Dubai Desert Classic after their Abu Dhabi exertions, but Bryson DeChambeau has stayed in the Middle East to represent the Stars and Stripes.

DeChambeau is the defending Desert Classic champion, having romped to a comfortable success last year, but unconvincing recent form suggests he will relinquish the title on Sunday.

Current Claret Jug holder, Shane Lowry, is in the Dubai field, along with former Open victors Louis Oosthuizen and Henrik Stenson, but this appears a tournament with a formidable favourite and punters are advised to concentrate funds on the market leader.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Tommy Fleetwood 15-2

It is testament to how great a player Tommy Fleetwood has become that he can carry an ice-cold putter for two rounds, make only five birdies over the first 36 holes of the Abu Dhabi Championship, yet still finish the event 17 under par and tied for second place.

Fleetwood took time to shake off the Christmas rust in Abu Dhabi, a tough task alongside Koepka and Lowry in the spotlight of the marquee group, but over the weekend the popular Southport swinger found top gear to bank another healthy cheque.

A bogey-free, nine-under-par, closing round of 63 was not enough for Fleetwood to catch an inspired Lee Westwood on Sunday, but it has set up the world number ten perfectly for a crack at winning a first Desert Classic. Fleetwood is a two-time Abu Dhabi champion and proven desert rat, his credentials further underlined by a runner-up effort behind Jon Rahm in the DP World Tour Championship at the end of November.

With no Rahm, Koepka or Cantlay to worry about in Dubai this week, Fleetwood is emphatically the most likely Desert Classic victor, and a quick follow up to his Nedbank Challenge triumph seems on the cards. That South Africa success started form figures of 1-2-2 and the 29-year-old may be benefitting from getting more used to fresh equipment.

Fleetwood used a full bag of Nike tools for a long time, before becoming a free agent apart from a ball deal with Titleist. His bag is starting to seem more settled, with a TaylorMade driver and woods, Srixon long-irons, TaylorMade short-irons, Titleist wedges and an Odyssey putter. He has made the transition from Nike, who stopped making golf gear, and seems to have crafted an ideal set of weapons.

Abu Dhabi is obviously Fleetwood's happiest hunting ground in the Middle East, but he has posted two top-tens at the Emirates and there is no reason why he should not lift silverware there too. If he brings his A-game from round four of Abu Dhabi, the rest of the Dubai field are in trouble.

Next best bet

Thomas Pieters 33-1

Thomas could chase Tommy home this week – Pieters is hitting his ball exceptionally well and seems likely to contend for Dubai glory if he can hole his fair share on the greens. The Belgian bomber has got his swing in dreamy order, sending golf fans into a quiver with an exquisite driver off the deck in Abu Dhabi, but the putter has been holding him back.

Given his desert credentials – three times a top-five finisher in Abu Dhabi and sixth in the DP World Tour Championship in November – Pieters can be expected to improve sharply on a surprisingly humdrum Desert Classic record. The DDC champions typically make their score on the par-fives and nobody seems more dangerous on the long holes at the moment than powerhouse Pieters.

Other selections

Victor Perez 28-1

Brandon Stone 125-1

Fleetwood may find most opposition comes from Pieters and Perez – victory for Victor would come as no surprise after the way he signed off from Abu Dhabi with an 18th-hole eagle and a round of 63 for a share of second place.

Perez has matured into one of the most consistent ball-strikers on the European Tour, aided by experienced caddie JP Fitzgerald, who spent years in the thick of the Middle East action alongside Rory McIlroy. Fitzgerald moved to Dubai after splitting with McIlroy, so knows the Emirates as well as anyone, and he can guide a buzzing Perez on to the leaderboard. The Frenchman, like Fleetwood, had spectacularly rid himself of close-season rust by last Sunday and was thrilled to marry a hot putter to his ever dependable long game.

Perez, the Dunhill Links champion, was runner-up in the 2018 Challenge Tour Grand Final in the UAE and he made a solid Desert Classic debut with 29th place last year.

Complete a team of big-hitters for a course which welcomes them with Brandon Stone, who, for all his inconsistency, has won three European Tour titles at the age of 26, including a Rolex Series event in which he closed with a round of 60.

The South African is gifted and dangerous, and a nine-under-par Abu Dhabi weekend featuring 11 birdies and an eagle provided great encouragement for the Emirates, where he finished seventh in 2017.

Players to note

Erik van Rooyen
The South African has followed 22nd place in his national Open with 12th spot in Abu Dhabi, making a steady start to 2020, but he missed the Desert Classic cut by six shots on his debut last year.

Paul Waring
The Birkenhead man can boast form figures of 21-3-25-8-16-24-14-12 from the BMW PGA Championship through Abu Dhabi, and he finished third in the Desert Classic last year.

Romain Langasque
The French youngster found some accuracy to complement his natural power in Abu Dhabi and a maiden European Tour victory seems to be getting closer.

Tom Lewis
The Englishman made a sluggish start to the year, missing the Abu Dhabi cut, but everything he did last season suggests it will not take long for him to contend for titles again.

Adri Arnaus
The Spaniard has moved to Dubai, so is playing at home, and a magnificent driving performance in Abu Dhabi last week indicates he can be a factor if improving his short-game work.

Gavin Green
The Malaysian followed 15th place in the South African Open with 21st spot in Abu Dhabi, and he appears to be slowly but surely developing into a European Tour champion.

Emirates course guide

Course Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Prize money $3.25m ($541,660 to the winner)
Length 7,353 yards
Par 72
Field 132
Course records- 72 holes 264 Bryson DeChambeau (2019)
18 holes 61 Ernie Els (1994)

Course winners taking part Thomas Bjorn, Henrik Stenson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Alvaro Quiros, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Stephen Gallacher (twice), Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia, Haotong Li, Bryson DeChambeau

When to bet By 3.10am Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 4am Thursday

Time difference Dubai is four hours ahead of the UK and Ireland

Last week - Abu Dhabi Championship 1 L Westwood (90-1),
T2 V Perez (66-1), M Fitzpatrick (20-1), T Fleetwood (10-1),
5 L Oosthuizen (16-1), T6 R Fisher (150-1), S Norris (200-1)

Course overview Emirates Golf Club has been used for the Desert Classic since 1989 apart from a two-year switch to Dubai Creek from 1999 to 2000. A score of just 11 under par was enough to reach at least a playoff in the tricky conditions of 2010 and 2011, but traditionally the Emirates has been a low-scoring track where something approaching or passing 20 under par has been required for victory. The back nine is the scoring half, with three par-fives (the tenth, 13th and 18th) and two relatively short par-threes (11th and 15th) and Tiger Woods came home in 31 shots (six under par) when winning in 2008 with a late birdie blitz. Trees and shrubs are waiting to punish the seriously wayward, and water comes into play on ten holes, but fairly straightforward, flat greens mean the competitors can relax once they have got putter in hand

Story of last year American raider Bryson DeChambeau turned the event into a procession, cruising to a seven-shot victory, with Matt Wallace a distant runner-up

Weather forecast Sunny for the most part, with moderate breezes throughout

Type of player suited to the challenge The Emirates has traditionally been a big-hitters' track and the champions usually make their score on the par-fives. Those who can hit it long and fairly straight, and are comfortable in desert conditions, should thrive

Key attribute Power

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