Rory McIlroy took a beating at the hands of Tyrrell Hatton in the Abu Dhabi Championship last week and the emphatic Abu Dhabi champion will fancy his chances of repeating the dose in this week’s Dubai Desert Classic.
McIlroy has jetted off to the PGA Tour, but Hatton has stayed in the Gulf seeking further glory. The Englishman’s final-round 66 in Abu Dhabi was the joint-best score of the day, which was a tremendous achievement given he was teeing up amid the pressure of a final two-ball alongside the most decorated player in attendance.
Hatton won back-to-back European Tour titles in 2017 – the Dunhill Links Championship and the Italian Open – and a weak Dubai line-up means another quick-fire double could be on the cards.
Hatton, who has moved up to world number five, can be backed at 7/1 for Dubai Desert Classic glory. His form figures from his last four visits to the Emirates venue are 8-3-3-38.
Morikawa Opts for Dubai Over Home State
It is a surprising scheduling decision from Collin Morikawa that he has chosen to play in the Dubai Desert Classic rather than the Farmers Insurance Open this week.
Morikawa is a Californian who could be competing in his home state alongside McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the Farmers – and the US Open in June is going to be staged at the Torrey Pines venue.
The reason why Morikawa is turning his back on some strong US Open preparation is almost certainly an appearance fee from the Desert Classic sponsors, so it will be interesting to see how the world number four performs.
Morikawa got his first taste of competition in the Gulf when finishing tenth in the DP World Tour Championship just before Christmas. The American raider is an 11/1 chance on his debut at the Emirates Club.
Morikawa has finished in the top ten in his last three events, following that decent DP World Tour Championship spin with seventh spot in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and seventh again in the Sony Open.
Wallace May Emerge as Threat to Favourite
Matt Wallace carded four solid rounds for a share of seventh place in the Abu Dhabi Championship last week, making a strong start to the year, and the Londoner could be in for a big season.
Wallace was under great pressure at the end of 2020, desperately trying to finish in the top 50 of the world rankings to qualify him for the 2021 Majors, and he managed it by ending up in 49th spot.
The relief of that successful mission was palpable in his interviews in Abu Dhabi – and a Ryder Cup debut has become the new target. Helping in this cause is Gareth Lord – the ace caddie Wallace has just recruited – and they should form a successful partnership.
Wallace has finished runner-up in all three of the European Tour events in Dubai and 20/1 will appeal to many punters for this week.
*All odds correct at time of writing.