The DP World Tour stages a high-class Dubai Desert Classic this week, featuring many of the best players on the planet, including Rory McIlroy.
The previous two editions of the Desert Classic have been won by McIlroy, who has triumphed four times in total at the Emirates Club. His maiden DP World Tour title came at this course in 2009.
McIlroy is making his first start of the year this week and will be joined in the field by Jon Rahm.
The Spaniard is one of several LIV representatives who are being allowed to tee up this week, with Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters and others also in attendance.
McIlroy is 15/4 favourite for Desert Classic glory, with Rahm available at 11/2. Dubai-based Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who top scored in the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi last week, can be backed at 11/1 for a first Desert Classic success.
Tyrrell Hatton to win and each-way - 9/1
Three-and-a-half points from four matches was an impressive haul from Tyrrell Hatton for Great Britain and Ireland in the Team Cup last week, meaning the Englishman looks ready for a strong Desert Classic title tilt.
Hatton beat Thorbjorn Olesen in the Team Cup singles on Sunday to seal his unbeaten record, building on the form he showed at the end of last year.
Victory in the Dunhill Links Championship was followed by second place in the Abu Dhabi Championship, sixth in the DP World Tour Championship and fifth in the Saudi International.
Hatton appears in complete control of his game, is looking like a must for the European Ryder Cup side and his record in the Gulf region is excellent, including victory in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Championship.
He can boast three top-four finishes in the Dubai Desert Classic.
Laurie Canter to win and each-way - 50/1
Hatton and Laurie Canter both loved being part of the triumphant Great Britain and Ireland team last week and both could be set for another satisfying week in the Middle East.
Canter may be the man to give Hatton most of a challenge.
He scored three points for the GB side, signing off with a 6&4 success alongside Paul Waring in the afternoon foursomes and a 5&4 thrashing of Romain Langasque in the singles.
If Canter carries that form to the Emirates, where he finished fourth on his Dubai Desert Classic debut in 2021, then he can contend for the trophy.
Canter claimed his maiden DP World Tour title last summer, winning the European Open on a long layout which favours strong drivers. The same can be said about the Emirates, a course he knows well from living in Dubai for a few months a year or so ago.
George Coetzee to win and each-way - 2000/1
Seasoned golf punters may be shocked to see the name of George Coetzee so deep in the betting.
The burly South African is a five-time DP World Tour champion at the age of 38 and he has a great record in the Middle East.
Fitness and form issues have seen Coetzee drop outside the top 1,500 of the world rankings, but he has twice finished in the top seven at the Emirates and has also contended in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Form is temporary, class is permanent, so odds of 2000/1 may tempt some each-way punters as Coetzee makes his first start of 2025.
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Rory McIlroy | |
Jon Rahm | |
Tyrrell Hatton | |
Tommy Fleetwood | |
Viktor Hovland | |
Rasmus Hojgaard | |
Robert MacIntyre | |
Adam Scott |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.