After a five week pause to the season the European Tour is back in session with this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Playing alongside THE PLAYERS Championship on the PGA side has affected the field, but most of the fellas are happy to be playing. This event has undergone a number of changes over the years with a different slot on the schedule affecting the prize pool and field strength. For the second straight year golfers will attack the Education City Golf Club, which took over hosting chores from Doha. Jorge Campillo is back to defend the title he won in five playoff holes last year. He’s looking up to Thomas Pieters at the top of the odds board, though the field is wide open presenting a number of tantalizing matchup picks. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of tournament matchup odds and to place your wager.
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Garrick Higgo -127 vs. Gavin Green -103
Masahiro Kawamura -136 vs. Eddie Pepperell +106
Benjamin Hebert -126 vs. Pablo Larrazabal -104
Alexander Levy +114 vs. Jazz Janewattananond -144
Scott Jamieson -113 vs. Jordan Smith -117
Shaun Norris -121 vs. Callum Shinkwin -109
Antoine Rozner -113 vs. Andy Sullivan -117
Jeff Winther -118 vs. Joachim B. Hansen -112
Thomas Detry -147 vs. Antoine Rozner +117
Dean Burmester -131 vs. Kalle Samooja +101
Matthias Schwab -145 vs. George Coetzee +115
Ross Fisher -137 vs. Marc Warren +107
Laurie Canter -112 vs. Dean Burmester -118
Joost Luiten -143 vs. Matthew Jordan +113
Thomas Pieters -122 vs. Thomas Detry -108
Marcus Armitage -125 vs. Niklas Lemke -105
Johannes Veerman -106 vs. Jamie Donaldson -124
Romain Langasque -109 vs. Adrian Otaegui -121
Brandon Stone -126 vs. Callum Hill -104
Justin Harding +107 vs. Sean Crocker -137
Kurt Kitayama -102 vs. Aaron Rai -128
Matthias Schwab -140 vs. Rasmus Hojgaard +110
Adri Arnaus +125 vs. Aaron Rai -157
Jorge Campillo +114 vs. Darren Fichardt -144
Wil Besseling -105 vs. Alexander Bjork -125
Wilco Nienaber -105 vs. Chris Paisley -125
Laurie Canter -122 vs. Kalle Samooja -108
Thomas Pieters -154 vs. Antoine Rozner +123
Thomas Detry -145 vs. Andy Sullivan +115
Thomas Pieters -140 vs. Andy Sullivan +110
Adri Arnaus +109 vs. Kurt Kitayama -139
George Coetzee -107 vs. Rasmus Hojgaard -123
Need to Know
The Tour got its first look at Education City Golf Club last year and for the most part handled it quite well. Campillo and David Drysdale tied for the 72-hole lead shooting 13-under and 11 players were double-figures under par. Opened in 2018, it’s a standard desert layout that doesn’t play overly long at 7,307 yards and par 71. Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal designed the course with an emphasis on iron play I’m sure. Nothing about the venue stands out, but give it time. It’s a gorgeous course that has its share of challenges. Two par 3 holes measure at around 210 yards and there are several short par 4s. It’s not all gravy, though. With a number of sizable and deep bunkers, water hazards protecting the greens, and thick fairway rough it is a stiff test.
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Matchup Picks
Adri Arnaus +109 vs. Kurt Kitayama
Like a lot of players on Tour Arnaus didn’t have much going on over the break. But he’s had some success in the Middle East and staying in the area should make him all warm and fuzzy. He posted three top-15s in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and should feel better about his chances in a watered down field. Arnaus has always played better on a course he’s familiar with and he learned the hard way last year with a MC. I expect better results this time around.
Rasmus Hojgaard +110 vs. Matthias Schwab
Hojgaard is one of the top young talents on Tour and he’s shown that playing with the big boys isn’t that difficult. We’ve seen him return close to the form that brought him four top-6 finishes in four starts last summer, including a win at the Handa UK Championship. It wasn’t going to be that easy and he experienced a mini slump after that. We saw him come back to life in the Middle East with a T9 in Dubai and a T6 in Saudi Arabia giving me the confidence to back him in this matchup at plus odds.
Callum Hill -104 vs. Brandon Stone
It’s always a good strategy to avoid big numbers, and that’s something Hill has done regularly He’s also coming off one of his best performances to date when he opened with a 65 and finished T4 at the Saudi International. He wasn’t overwhelmed or in awe of the talent on the golf course which makes me think he’ll go off with a lesser group to contend with. However, he can’t think like that and needs to keep his foot on the gas. I’m betting on him to do that this week.
Kalle Samooja -108 vs. Laurie Canter
Only two golfers finished with a lower score than Samooja last year, and he comes in playing solid golf. It’s been kind of a hit or miss proposition for the young Fin. In four events to close last season he was runner-up at Cyprus and was T23 at the DP World Tour Championship. He missed the cut in his other two starts. His play in the desert has been about the same with a T4 in Dubai and two MCs. We don’t know which player is going to show up, but solid play around the greens is enough to prevail in this matchup.
Thomas Pieters -122 vs. Thomas Detry
The most high profile player in the field, Pieters also comes off as the betting favorite. He’s one of a few players to compete on the PGA side during the break with a top-20 in Puerto Rico while trying to stay tournament ready. Against a much stronger field in Saudi Arabia in January Pieters placed among the top-10 and he was T21 on this course last year.
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