The climax of the European Tour Race to Dubai takes center stage this week at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. After a grueling 40-tournament schedule played across 20- countries, Colin Morikawa holds the advantage in the standings, however with 2,000 points available for the winner, Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatrick, Min Woo Lee and Tyrrell Hatton all remain in the hunt. Check out our preview and predictions below, and if playing online casino is your choice of entertainment, head over to Genting Casino and enjoy our premium experience with over 3000 of your favourite online slots and live casino table games available on any device.

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DP World Tour Championship Contenders

Jon Rahm’s withdrawal has somewhat undermined the European Tour’s headline event, and it’s not been helped either by the absence of Viktor Hovland here either, meaning two of Europe’s top three players won’t be on show in Dubai, which obviously leaves Rory McIlroy as the market leader, and it’s clear to see why. 

Rory McIlroy

The Northern Irishman’s form at the Earth Course reads 3-5-11-1-5-2-1-9-20-4, and it’s safe to say he absolutely adores desert conditions, highlighted by his second PGA Tour win of the season at the CJ Cup in Nevada last month. 

There’s very little doubt that McIlroy will compete in the form he’s in too, with top four finishes in half of his six starts since the Open, and despite a short price of 7/1, it’s difficult to see anyone beating him here. 

However, despite a smaller field, 7/1 is too short to get behind when considering the 32-year-old hasn’t won successive events since August 2014, and while now is as good a time as any to end that run, his short price has elevated some others, providing good each way value elsewhere.

Dean Burmester

One of those players is Dean Burmester, who goes off at a big 50/1 despite his form here at the Earth Course reading 4-4-14. He did very little wrong with regard to those opening two years, with his stats across the board being exceptional, and in his 14th placed finish last year he lead the field in Strokes Gained Off The Tee, and was only let down by a wayward putting display. 

He had no such problem in that regard last week on the Fire Course, where he ranked second for Strokes Gained Putting, though the low-scoring shootout didn’t suit him and on a more challenging track, he should be up in the mixer.

The South African has already won on the Tour this year, with that victory coming in hot conditions in Tenerife, following that win up with fourth and sixth placed finishes to prove he really can mix it with the best on this tour. 

In the last two years he also has a third placed finish at the Dubai desert Classic, and an 11th at the Saudi International, highlighting his love for warm weather golf. Just two weeks ago he also took the title at the South African PGA, so confidence is at a high and his price looks far too long considering.

Min-Woo Lee

While there’s nothing by the way of course form to go off, it’s very hard to ignore the form of Min-Woo Lee. The Australian has made five successive cuts now and is on a run of 2-8-4 across Spain, Portugal and Dubai in recent weeks, and is another who enjoys his golf in hotter climates. 

His putting has often been his downfall as his long game is up there with the best on Tour, though last week saw him gain more strokes on the field putting than he has done since his victory at the Scottish Open back in July.

His approach play let Lee down last week, though considering he gained nearly 10 strokes on the field in that regard in his previous two events, we’re happy to put that aspect of his game last week down as an anomaly, and if he can marry his long and shot game this week, he looks far too long at 30/1 in this restricted field, especially when he is still one of five players who has the incentive of winning the Race to Dubai.

Adri Arnaus

Finally, it’s an even longer price about Adri Arnaus that takes our fancy. At 80/1 he’s certainly worth a flutter, especially considering he lives in Dubai and regularly harnesses his skillset on this course. 

He comes into this off the back of an eighth placed finish in Portugal, which was a good recovery considering his heartbreak in losing in a play-off in his home Open just a month earlier. 

The cream has tended to rise to the top in this tournament in recent years, though with just 53 players on show this week, each way places offer up some serious potential and Arnaus is up there with the best shouts to contend. 

28th on debut isn’t anything to be sniffed at, especially when considering he followed that up with a top-10 finish on his second start last year. What’s more, he then finished 12th and ninth in a three event Dubai stretch, so it’s safe to say he enjoys these conditions.

PREDICTIONS:

DEAN BURMESTER E/W

MIN WOO LEE E/W

ADRI ARNAUS E/W

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After a successful debut as the penultimate event on the European Tour last season, the decision was made to reintroduce the Dubai double header to end the 2021 campaign too, and this year there’s a slightly more recognisable field with Ryder Cup duo Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood leading the betting market. Check out our preview and predictions below, and if playing online casino is your choice of entertainment, head over to Genting Casino and enjoy our premium experience with over 3000 of your favourite online slots and live casino table games available on any device.

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The Course

This Greg Norman designed course is intended to resemble a links track, with natural undulations accompanied by a hot climate supposedly providing a real challenge to even the world’s elite. None of that proved to be true last year as Antoine Rozner stormed home with a score of -25, as players were able to make light work of a new course on the circuit.

That, to some degree, nullifies the advances skillset of the likes of Casey and Fleetwood over the field, as it’s when players are truly tested that the elite players stand up to be counted, so it’s almost worth avoiding them at their current prices and looking for greater value further down the market.

Wide, forgiving fairways and large, findable greens mean every player in the field is able to find their greens in regulation with some level of comfortability, and it’s really a competition of who’s the hottest with the putter in hand this week. 

The Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates boast greens of a natural bermudagrass hybrid and plays slightly slower than Jumeirah’s more iconic Earth Course, though that’s not exactly saying much, and we can still expect some serious pace in these desert conditions.

Dubai Championship Contenders

Tom Lewis

While there’s not much to go off in terms of course pedigree, UAE form is still a great indicator here. 

Rozner’s victory here came at the start of a strong patch of form in the Middle East, going 1-36-16-9-26-1 across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, and on that basis is Tom Lewis that takes our fancy for this one. 

The Englishman has top-10s in half of his last eight starts in the UAE, and while he also has a few missed cuts in this neck of the woods, his price more than caters for those off weeks.

His current form is certainly nothing to write home about, and his place on the PGA Tour is very much up in the air at the moment, though he came into this stretch last year in a similar vein of poor form before coming 23rd in the Tour Championship, though he only finished that low owing to a poor opening round, and he was among the best players in the field over the final three days. 

The year before that in Dubai, he finished sixth, and had the fewest putts per round of anyone in the field that year, so it’s safe to say he’s got a good read of greens around here.

Confidence will be the big killer for Lewis, though these conditions certainly bring out his best golf and with the prices surrounding him at the moment, he’s worth getting with an each way shout.

Andy Sullivan

Our second bet goes the way of another Englishman in Andy Sullivan, who will be determined to avenge his final round of last year by putting on a show this week, and he really needs to. 

A strong week for Sullivan will guarantee him a place in the DP World Tour Championship, and based on his performance her last year he’s certainly got a strong chance.

He was leading after each of the first three days before a final round of 70 saw him drop back to a tie of second behind Rozner. 

His stats across the board were incredibly solid, with his approach play and green work particularly impressive last year and that should give him confidence heading into the same course.

He’s proven over his career that performance was far from a one off, with his form in the Middle East extremely good. 

He’s made six consecutive cuts in the UAE, including three top-10s, while he also has six consecutive made cuts in Qatar to highlight how much he loves these conditions. 

Again, his recent form leaves a lot to be desired, though we’d expect his best golf to come out once again here and he’s worth getting behind.

Victor Perez

Finally, while Rozner is no doubt capable here, it’s his compatriot that we like the look of more. Victor Perez has a top-five finish in the Middle East already this year with his performance at the Saudi International, and while his last two showings in the UAE have resulted in a missed cut and a tie for 46th, prior to that he went 7-16-2-20 so he’s certainly got pedigree here, if not specifically here at fire.

Unlike the others, Perez comes into this off the back of a strong showing in his last event, with an eighth placed finish at the Portugal Masters, and that certainly sets him up nicely for this week, especially as he ranked third in the field for Putting Average that week. 

He goes off at a similar price to Rozner, and while both need to be considered, Perez looks to have more of that cutting edge and looks the better of the picks for us.

PREDICTIONS:

TOM LEWIS E/W

ANDY SULLIVAN E/W

VICTOR PEREZ E/W

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While Sherwood provided an apt home for the 2020 edition of the Zozo cup, we’re now back at Narashino Country Club in Japan where Tiger Woods claimed victory over Hideki Matsuyama two years ago with a score of 19 under par. Aside from that inaugural edition of this championship, there’s no course pedigree to go off for any of this year’s field, though in truth this is a typical Japanese track, and with conditions expected to be relatively cool and fair over the week, form elsewhere in Japan can serve as a good indicator. Check out our preview and predictions for another week of top-class PGA Tour action.

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Zozo Championship Contenders

The field this year is substantially weaker than it was two years ago, with only three of the world’s top-30 featuring this week, leaving Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Matsuyama as the market leaders, and it’s the former that get’s our vote of confidence.

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele’s consistency on tour is almost frightening and going back to January last year he’s now only missed two of 37 possible cuts, making the top-25 in 30 of those, with the majority coming in much stronger fields so it’s hard to envisage him not being in the mix come Sunday evening. 

More telling though is his form in Japan, with his last appearance here coming at the Olympics, in which he took home the gold medal and he’ll harness confidence from that win upon his return here. 

The American also featured in this competition two years ago at this course, finishing in a tie for 10th in what we’ve already mentioned was a far stronger field than we have here.

If 2019’s edition is anything to go by, then this course will likely be forgiving off the tee, and those who hit their greens in regulation and get a good feel for the greens early on will fare extremely well here. 

Schauffele ranked in the top-15 for both metrics last year, while the top four putters that week all finished in the top six, while five of the top six for greens in regulation finished 17th or better. 

Schauffele has ranked seventh and eighth for putting in his last two trips to Japan, and hit over 70% of his greens on both occasions, so if he’s remotely on his game here he has a fantastic chance of clinching this title.

Emiliano Grillo

With just a few of the world’s true elite featuring here, an opportunity presents itself for some of the fringe players to make their mark, and the one we’re happy to get behind doing so is Emiliano Grillo. 

After what was a relatively underwhelming opening three days at the CJ Cup last weekend, the Argentine found gold with the putter and had the best Sunday in the field as he carded an 11 under to break the top-20 in the end. 

That will do the youngster the world of confidence considering his putter has often been his least favoured club, while he’s also shown signs in the past of being a streaky golfer, and we’ll back him to put on another show here.

Indeed, having finished in sixth at the Corales Puntacana early on last season, he then followed up with an even more impressive second place at the Heritage, while the season before he finished in third at the 3M Open only to follow that up with a ninth at the Barracuda Championship. 

He’s made all four of his cuts in Japan too going 2-16-8-30 from his outings in this country and that, coupled with his performance last weekend and this weaker than usual field should give him great confidence of competing here.

Joaquin Niemann

Finally, it’s another South American that takes our fancy. Joaquin Niemann had a poor week with the putter in Vegas last time out, and a similar display here wouldn’t have him anywhere near the top of the leader board. 

However, we wouldn’t expect another one with the quality on the greens that Niemann possesses.

His consistency is arguably in the same category as Schauffele’s as even if he’s not as prolific as the American, he’s now missed just one cut since August last year and in this field he should take great confidence from that. 

He finished 33rd two years ago here, though this track certainly suits the player he’s become more than the player he was back then, while he also proved he can cope with Japanese conditions when finishing in the top-10 at the Olympics this summer, where he ranked third for greens in regulation. 

He looks well priced up considering the company he’s in, and we’re happy to get behind him to get his second PGA Tour victory.

PREDICTIONS:

XANDER SCHAUFFELE TO WIN

EMILIANO GRILLO E/W

JOAQUIN NIEMANN E/W

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The third of three events on the Spanish swing before we head across the border to Portugal sees the European Tour make its way to the Balearic Islands, namely Mallorca, for the first time in a decade. This course hasn’t been played on tour by anyone in this field, with Miguel Angel Jiminez the last winner here 23 years ago with a score of -9. Check out our preview and predictions for another week of top-class European Tour action.

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Malllorca Open Contenders

With nothing to go off in terms of course pedigree, taking the track on looks we can expect a fairly easy test with regard to its’ layout, though the biggest factor will likely be the wind. 

If the breeze doesn’t pick up at all over the weekend, expect a relatively low score on this short course that the biggest hitters in the game can muscle their way around. 

That said, the chances of a windless affair are extremely slim on coastal tracks like this, and that’s why seaside form will likely count for a lot, with those with a low-ball flight promising to fare well.

Ryan Fox

It’s for that reason that Ryan Fox appeals. The New Zealander is unsurprisingly effective when playing on the coast. Indeed, 

He finished fourth last week in at Valderrama on the Andalusian Coast, with his previous top-10 finish coming on the Saudi Arabian Coast earlier in the Season, somewhere he’d also previously had a top-10. He’s got a brace of top-10s at both the Scottish and Irish Opens, with a victory and runner up place in his most recent visits to Melbourne and Perth on the Australasian Tour. 

His distance off the tee should serve him extremely well here with these wide-open fairways promising to be some of the most forgiving on the tour, and if he can strategise to avoid the hazardous lakes that can sometimes come in to play, we’d expect him to be extremely difficult to beat. 

Indeed, while his short game has often been his downfall, there are some serious sings of improvement in recent weeks. He was the second-best putter at Valderrama last week in terms of average, while he becomes a completely different iron player on the Iberian Peninsula. 

He’s gained an average of 4.4 strokes on approach in the last two weeks at the Open de Espana and Andalucia Masters, with his last two Portugal Masters seeing him gain 4.96 and 7.56 strokes on the field with his irons. 

This course looks tailor made to the kiwi and it would be a real surprise not to see him in the mix come Sunday.

Wilco Nienaber

Fox will undoubtedly be ranked in the top five for driving distance this week, though one player who’s almost guaranteed to hit it further than him is Wilco Nienaber. 

The young South African is the biggest hitter on the tour by some margin, while he’s also fared very well in Spanish conditions. 

Admittedly, a tie for 49th at Valderrama last week was below expectation, though that course can throw up some serious obstacles and a bad week there can be expected from time to time, you just have to look at Jon Rahm’s Thursday session to understand that.

Prior to that, he had back-to-back sixth placed finishes in Spain, with one of them being at Valderrama too so it’s not as though he necessarily struggles with coastal conditions. 

For the first time in his professional career he led the field in putting average last week, and only failed to get in the mixer due to his worst irons display of his career too hitting only 43% of his greens in regulation. 

We’re inclined to put that down as an anomaly and not and indication of his approach play tailing off, and like Fox he’s otherwise showing strong signs of a big finish, and this is exactly the field he needs to make a statement.

Adri Arnaus

Finally it feels wrong not to back a Spaniard when they so typically perform so well on home soil. 

Last week, Pablo Larrazabal was the highest placed Spaniard in a tie for 20th, though we would expect this leaderboard to have a more similar feel to the Open de Espana, where five locals made the top 20, with two of them entering a play-off for the title, and we’re going to back that play-off loser to enact some sort of revenge here.

Adri Arnaus missed the cut at Valderrama last week, though as we’ve mentioned that can happen to even the best players around and certainly doesn’t say anything about the kind of player Arnaus is. 

Prior to that, he had five top-10 finishes from his last six starts in his home country, including four top-5s, the two most recent of which came in what is likely to be extremely conditions in the Canary Islands, so we’d certainly expect him to bounce straight back this week.

While home form certainly counts for a lot, his recent form is also ticking over quite nicely on tour as he finished 24th at the tricky Alfred Dunhill Links and 12th at the Italian Open. 

Currently 37th in the Race to Dubai, he could do with a big performance to cement his place in the top-50, and there’s little suggestion he won’t do that having had two days extra rest than most having not played last weekend.

PREDICTIONS:

RYAN FOX E/W

WILCO NIENABER E/W

ADRI ARNAUS E/W

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