Steve Palmer's Ras al Khaimah Championship predictions & free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Ras al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra GC on the European Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 8.30am on Thursday

Best bets

Romain Langasque
2.5pts each-way 25-1 bet365

Johannes Veerman
2pts each-way 45-1 bet365

Ryan Fox
1.5pts each-way 45-1 bet365

Julien Brun
1pt each-way 60-1 bet365

Click here to add Steve Palmer's golf tips to your bet365 betslip

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

CLAIM OFFER HERE

Bernd Wiesberger is clear favourite for the inaugural Ras al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour, but punters who witnessed his final-round 76 in the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday will probably not be rushing to take short odds about the Austrian.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Romain Langasque 25-1

A brilliant amateur career and a God-given ball-striking ability suggested sweet-swinging Frenchman Romain Langasque would become a superstar - and there is still plenty of time for the 26-year-old to fulfil his early potential.

The 2020 Wales Open is his only main-tour success, but a follow-up could be coming in the Ras al Khaimah Championship this week. Langasque is still bursting with self-belief, explaining in a recent interview that his target is to be on the PGA Tour within two years, and victory at Al Hamra GC on Sunday can be used as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Langasque is one of few players in this field with positive course experience to draw upon. He played in two of the three Challenge Tour events staged at Al Hamra, finishing sixth and fourth, and another bold effort can be expected given a bright fortnight in the Middle East.

A share of 12th place in Abu Dhabi was followed by 18th in the Dubai Desert Classic - and this week is a massive downgrade on those two Rolex Series gatherings. Langasque recruited a new caddie for 2022 - Mark Duffy - and has clearly gelled well with the experienced Irishman.

Next best bet

Johannes Veerman 45-1

Johannes Veerman has just become a father - a Johannes Veerman junior has entered the world - and the likeable American could freewheel to great things at Al Hamra given the joy he is carrying in his personal life. Veerman has played an understandably light schedule recently, but his ball-striking was excellent in Dubai last week and can provide the foundation for contending in Ras.

Veerman made his European Tour breakthrough in August - in the Czech Masters - and enjoyed a superb 2021 campaign which included two decent desert spins. He was 14th in the Qatar Masters and 21st in the DP World Tour Championship. The 29-year-old appears to be still improving and well capable of winning in this grade.

Other selections

Ryan Fox 45-1

Julien Brun 60-1

Ryan Fox, like Langasque and Veerman, possesses the power to tear the four par-five holes at Al Hamra to shreds. Fox has competed once on the track - sharing 16th spot in 2016 - and he went on to twice finish sixth in the Saudi International. A wide-open desert layout seems ideal for him.

Life has not been straightforward for Fox during the pandemic - New Zealand has had strict quarantine laws making travel troublesome - and he has had to adjust to being a father in that period as well. The 35-year-old Auckland man seems more relaxed lately and he has made a solid start to 2022. The rust came off with 61st place in Abu Dhabi, then he finished strongly for 26th place in the Dubai Desert Classic. Dubai champ, Viktor Hovland, scored only one shot better than Fox over the weekend. A first Tour hole-in-one was another boost.

Complete a four-pronged attack with Julien Brun, a promising Challenge Tour graduate who won twice on that circuit last year. Brun has got three CT titles to his name and is playing superbly at the age of 29. He has finished in the top 25 in his last 12 tournaments and that consistency may result in a DP World Tour breakthrough soon.

Players to note

Grant Forrest
The Scot has Al Hamra form figures of 32-28-10 from his CT days. Course comfort gives the Hero Open champion hope.

Marcel Schneider
The German, who won twice on the CT last year, has course experience (55-7-25) and carded a 64 at the track in 2017.

Jordan Smith
The Englishman won on the CT at Al Hamra in 2016 and has started this year solidly, but he is difficult to trust in contention.

Thorbjorn Olesen
This proven desert rat is slowly but surely getting his career back on track after a long spell of serious off-course problems.

Al Hamra course guide

Course Al Hamra Golf Club, Ras al Khaimah, UAE
Prize money $2m ($333,400 to the winner)
Length 7,325 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) Richard Bland (53), Bernd Wiesberger (62), Robert MacIntyre (63), Shaun Norris (73), Daniel van Tonder (77)

Course records- 72 holes 268 Jordan Smith (2016 Ras al Khaimah Challenge); 18 holes 64 Pep Angles, Paul Maddy (2016 Ras al Khaimah Challenge), Jurrian Van der Vaart, Marcel Schneider (2017 Ras al Khaimah Challenge), Sean Crocker (2018 Challenge Tour Grand Final)

Course winner taking part Jordan Smith

When to bet By 3.10am on Thursday morning

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 8.30am on Thursday

Time difference Ras al Khaimah is four hours ahead of the UK and Ireland

Last week - Dubai Desert Classic 1 V Hovland (10-1), 2 R Bland (150-1), 3 R McIlroy (8-1), T4 J Harding (110-1), T Hatton (18-1), S Horsfield (75-1), A Meronk (140-1), E van Rooyen (50-1)

Course type Desert

Course overview The Peter Harradine-designed track hosted its first professional event with the 2016 Ras al Khaimah Challenge on the Challenge Tour, then the tournament was staged again in 2017. In 2018, the course hosted the Challenge Tour Grand Final instead - won by Adri Arnaus - and it has not been employed since. The winning scores in the three CT events there are 20, 15 and 17 under par. The layout meanders around four lagoons, with paspalum grass throughout.

Weather forecast Sunny, with temperatures around 25C, and gentle breezes peaking at 13 mph on Sunday.

Type of player suited to the challenge Wide fairways, limited bunkering and straightforward greens make this a simple assignment for Tour professionals, particularly with a lack of serious wind in the forecast, and a powerhouse putting well should go low.

Key attribute Power

Spotlight insight Nine of the 45-man field finished double-digits under par in the last Challenge Tour event at Al Hamra.

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport