After Sami Valimaki stunned the golf world with a longshot victory in Oman, the European Tour remains in the Middle East for this week’s playing of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Can we see another +25000 upset winner when the field assembles at the Education City Golf Club in Doha? In all likelihood the answer is no, but that’s why they play the game. Things have changed for this event over the years. A move to later in the schedule affected the prize money and strength of the field. And this year there’s a new host for the first time since the tournament’s introduction in 1998. Valimaki moved up the odds board this week, but he’s well behind online sportsbook favorite Martin Kaymer with odds suggesting a wide open field. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds and to place your wager.
Martin Kaymer +1400
Thomas Pieters +1600
Robert MacIntyre +2000
Matthias Schwab +2200
Joost Luiten +2200
Thomas Detry +2500
Mike Lorenzo-Vera +2500
Ross Fisher +2800
Gavin Green +2800
George Coetzee +2800
Haotong Li +3000
Jordan Smith +3000
Paul Waring +3300
Eddie Pepperell +3300
Mikko Korhonen +3300
Adri Arnaus +3300
Brandon Stone +4000
Guido Migliozzi +4000
Min Woo Lee +5000
Marcus Kinhult +5000
Benjamin Hebert +5000
Andy Sullivan +5500
Victor Dubuisson +6600
Nicolas Colsaerts +6600
Justin Harding +6600
Romain Langasque +7000
Zander Lombard +7000
Clement Sordet +7000
Scott Jamieson +8000
Sam Horsfield +8000
Sami Valimaki +8000
Rasmus Hojgaard +8000
Connor Syme +8000
Antoine Rozner +8000
Alejandro Canizares +8000
Alexander Levy +8000
Jason Scrivener +8000
Dean Burmester +8000
Grant Forrest +8000
Matthieu Pavon +8000
Matthew Jordan +8000
Kalle Samooja +8000
Odds Analysis
Martin Kaymer +1400
A watered down field playing for the first time on a new course leaves a lot up in the air. Since we are on another desert course checking numbers from past events on the Arabian Peninsula should come in handy. Kaymer is a fan of desert golf according to his results. Four stops this season have yielded four top-16 finishes with a T8 in Abu Dhabi and most recently a T10 in Oman. The former World No. 1 should be a contender this week.
Jordan Smith +3000
There are a number of players who have performed well in the desert, that’s why they are pegging it up this week. Smith carries plenty of value at his current odds and is coming off a strong tournament last week at the Oman Open, which was his best of the desert swing. He’s 4 for 4 in the desert this season and nearly topped the field in driving accuracy and GIR last week leading to a T6. He’s been stymied by a bad score in each of the four events leading to a lower spot on the leaderboard. If he can put four rounds together he’s a bargain.
Ross Fisher +2800
You can’t talk about desert golf this season without Fisher being mentioned in the conversation. He’s been one of the top performers on the desert swing with a trio of top-10s, including a T6 in both Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. He hit greens at a high percentage last week in Oman en route to a T10 proving his irons are working, which is a plus on this course. He hasn’t fared particularly well in Qatar with nothing better than a T25. A change of scenery should do the trick.
Mikko Korhonen +3300
If you want to throw down on Korhonen you better hope a recent spot of trouble has passed. A consistent player throughout his career, the Fin experienced some issues on the front end of the desert swing with two MCs in three starts. He was deadly with his irons last week leading to his best finish since winning the China Open 10 months ago. He hasn’t fared well in the desert in the past, but his T4 last week and attacking a new venue this week should give him inspiration.
Alejandro Canizares +8000
Valimaki’s win as a big underdog in Oman has me looking down the odds board to see if I can find the next big payday. Canizares is one player who stands out. He missed the cut in his first event of the year but has responded with a run of fine form since with a T15 at the Vic Open and a T6 last week in Oman. He’s not a regular on the desert swing but he hangs around when he plays. The Spaniard has a T5 and solo eighth when playing at Doha.
Course: Education City Golf Club – 7,307 yards, Par 71
Hosting for the first time this brand new venue gets to show off this week. There is plenty we don’t know about Education City Golf Club. What we do know is that it opened in 2019 and is a stock par 71 desert layout designed by Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal. The distance is actually shorter than its predecessor, Doha Golf Club, but will provide new challenges since it’s a first time for many in the field. At just over 7,300 yards the length isn’t overwhelming. Three par 5s measure between 530 and 590 yards with two par 4s at over 210 yards. And there are several short par 4s as well. It looks to be a scorers course with iron play being rewarded. To keep players honest there are 91 deep bunkers littered throughout with deep desert rough waiting off the fairways.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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