It’s the second Rolex Series Event of the DP World Tour season this week and there is a star-studded field battling it out in the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, headlined by four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy made his first appearance of 2022 at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first Rolex event of the season, and after battling to make the cut, he managed to finish tied 12th.
The Northern Irishman had made a final-round surge, getting to within a couple shots of the lead at one stage, but a disappointing end saw him drop out of contention, although it will still rank as a positive week for him.
Attention now turns to the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club and this has proven to be a happy hunting ground for the 32-year-old, who lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2015 – winning by one and three strokes, respectively.
McIlroy leads the betting at 15/2 and he will be hoping to land his first Rolex Series title, but there is stiff competition in this field and he will need to be at his best to claim the spoils.
Norwegian Viktor Hovland is 9/1 after his tied-fourth finish last week, while Tyrrell Hatton is 16/1 and the trio of Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia and last week’s winner Thomas Pieters are all priced at 22/1.
American Hoping for Improvement
Collin Morikawa made a solid first appearance of 2022 when finishing T5 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour, but he struggled last week and was T62 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The American, ranked second in the world, has happy memories of playing in the United Arab Emirates after he won the DP World Tour Championship last year to be crowned European Golfer of the Year – the first player from his country to achieve this feat.
Morikawa, usually rock-solid with his irons and short game, is 10/1 to win the tournament.
Defence to Be Made for Casey
Englishman Paul Casey took the title in 2021 and he is available at 25/1 to become the first player since Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher in 2014 to successfully retain the title.
The 44-year-old was tied-16th on his first outing of 2022 at the SMBC Singapore Open and there were plenty of positives to take from that performance, given the fact it was the first time he had been seen since the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Spaniard Worth a Punt
Further down the betting is the name of Spanish ace Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who claimed a one-shot victory back in 2012 and also finished runner-up in 2016 when losing out to Danny Willett by just one stroke.
Ranked 102nd in the world, the 37-year-old was tied-second in Abu Dhabi last week, missing out on the title by just one shot, and he looks in great nick heading into this tournament.
At 45/1, Cabrera-Bello looks overpriced and could give you a big run for your money.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
