Al Hamra Golf Club becomes the latest in a growing list of DP World Tour venues to host consecutive events – Celtic Manor in Wales, Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus, Kenya’s Karen Country Club and Golf Costa Adeje, Tenerife, have all done likewise in recent seasons.
The 7,325-yard par-72 desert track, also the scene of three Challenge Tour events between 2016 and 2018, was no match for Hojgaard and his fellow professionals, the Dane reaching 24-under-par for the tournament to lift his second DP World Tour title.
New week, same Nicolai Højgaard
#HeroChallenge pic.twitter.com/QB1QqfFn69
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 8, 2022
Spanish Powerhouse Poised to Bully Al Hamra Layout
Logic dictates that those who teed it up in the Championship will have an advantage and it’s no surprise to see the supremely gifted Hojgaard priced up at 14/1 for a quickfire Ras Al Khaimah double.
He will interest plenty, as will Championship runner-up Jordan Smith, who boasts DP World Tour form figures of 12-9-2 to start the year. Smith is a 16/1 shot but a better option could come in the form of Adri Arnaus, who is one of the few making the short hop from Saudi Arabia to Ras Al Khaimah.
While Arnaus did not play at Al Hamra last week, he impressed in Saudi on another course where his power off the tee was an asset, contending for much of the final round at Royal Greens before eventually finishing third.
The Spaniard is a confirmed Al Hamra lover, claiming the Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2018, and he would arguably be a lot shorter than 22/1 had he finished third in the UAE rather than elsewhere on a course with similar characteristics.
LI Should Build on Another Promising Performance
Several players caught the eye at Al Hamra last week but few were quite as impressive as Haotong Li, who recovered from a poor start to finish third behind Hojgaard and Smith.
Chinese player Li had been struggling for form but a return to his homeland in December, where he finished runner-up in the China Open, appears to have reinvigorated Li, who finished 12th at the Sony Open on the PGA Tour on his first start of 2022.
He then shot 19-under for the final three rounds at Al Hamra and a third DP World Tour success – Li won the 2016 China Open and, more significantly, the 2018 Dubai Desert Classic – could be around the corner. He is 28/1 to win this week.
Van Tonder Has the Game to Be Classic Contender
Long-driving South African Daniel van Tonder was another to make a slow start last week but, with four rounds at Al Hamra now under his belt, there is every chance he improves given the way he finished in the Championship.
Van Tonder was a champion at another ‘second leg’ event, winning the Kenya Savannah Classic last March, and he tees it up this week full of encouragement after a closing 65 vaulted him into a share of 13th place. He looks decent value at 50/1.
*All odds correct at time of writing.