European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

2018 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Fantasy Preview

The European Tour remains in the Middle East for the second part of the second part of the Desert Swing (it kinda makes sense if you think about it!).

Normally, the Qatar Masters sits at the end of the cycle that passes through Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but this year that was broken up with trips to Malaysia and Australia in between.

The action returned to the Gulf last week at the Oman Open, a fantastic new tournament played out at the lush Al Mouj course; described liberally by the players as the best layout in the Middle East. We particularly enjoyed the event as our top tier pick, Joost Luiten, led home the field with our other plays Jorge Campillo, Matt Southgate and Andrew Johnston finishing in T4, T9 and T12 respectively!

Joost Luiten of the Netherlands celebrates with the winners trophy…

Joost Luiten of the Netherlands celebrates with the winners trophy after the final round of the NBO Oman Open at Al Mouj Golf on February 18, 2018 in Muscat, Oman. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

There is a similar theme to unfold this week in Doha, with a rollcall of former winners of this event that includes Sergio Garcia, Branden Grace, Adam Scott, Paul Lawrie and Henrik Stenson. It’s fair to say that the best Links players really come to the party at this Doha GC layout, and so there should hopefully be a nice cross-over from last week’s outing.

The wind will blow pretty fiercely in Qatar this week, and the exposed layout and fast, bouncy conditions do have an undoubtedly Links-feel to them. Is it any wonder that four British Open champions have triumphed here in the past decade or so?

This stretch was designed by Peter Harradine, who was also responsible for the Abu Dhabi GC track that the European Tour visited just a few weeks ago, and measures 7,400 yards for its Par 72. Water is in play on six holes and the Bermuda greens are said to be grainier and slower than their counterparts in this part of the world.

Since 1999 there have been three repeat winners (Paul Lawrie, Adam Scott and Branden Grace), and defending champion Jeunghun Wang will be looking to join that exclusive club this week.

Gamers should beware though: there has been only one debut winner since 2005, so look to those who have experienced Doha GC before in your line-ups.

The rollcall of former champions here is staggering: Grace, Scott, Stenson, Lawrie, Bjorn, Karlsson, Quiros, Goosen, Els….it’s a list comprising of major winners, prolific champions on Tour, Ryder Cuppers and class acts in general. Perhaps that’s the view we should be taking with our draft this week.

So who makes our team in Doha?

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This Week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Fantasy Picks

Chris Wood – $11,000 – It would have been easy to draft Jeunghun Wang this week; the talented Korean defends his title here and has other form at Peter Harradine courses to call upon.

But instead we’re going to take a chance on Chris Wood, who was excellent in the face of tough conditions in Oman.

On the Saturday he was paired with Paul Waring, who shot 81, and on Sunday he played with Matt Southgate, who was visibly frustrated to go round in 75.

Kudos to Wood then, who kept his composure to shoot 69-69 and finish solo second.

We’ve mentioned that Oman form should lead nicely into the Qatar Masters, and in Wood we have a former champion here (2013) who finished T11 at this track just 12 months ago.

The lanky Englishman ranked third for Putts per Round at Al Mouj, and while the surfaces are different at Doha the need to make plenty of headway with the flat stick remains in place. Wood heads there full of confidence.

Jordan Smith – $8,700 – Two rounds of 66 should let Jordan Smith know what might have been at Doha last year; his T6 finish a hint of what may follow.

Smith established himself as something of a class act on the European Tour last year, winning the Porsche European Open and banking six other top-20 finishes for his followers. A first ever top-10 finish at a major – T9 at the PGA Championship – really was the icing on the cake.

The Englishman has struggled to follow up since, but there signs of definite life in Oman: he opened with a round of 68 before slipping away to finish T26, but there was plenty to like: he hit some 87.5% of fairways and ranked sixth for Greens in Regulation, so perhaps his ball-striking game is coming together.

Smith actually has a win in the Middle East to his name too at Ras Al Khaimah on the 2016 Challenge Tour.

Nicolas Colsaerts – $8,200 – Nappy Factor alert! The Belgian became a father earlier in February when his son, Jackson, entered the world, and there are plenty of examples of parenthood inspiring a player to new heights.

Maybe that’s what it will take for Colsaerts, a two-time European Tour winner and former Ryder Cupper, to reassert himself at the top of the game in Europe.

He certainly has the game for it, with long, straight hitting a particular specialty. He ranked second for GIR here 12 months ago in a T28 finish, and that extends a decent formline at Doha GC which reads 28-27-13-9.

Eddie Pepperell – $7,500 – ‘I hit it so well on the range today I almost posted a video. Then I realized even I don’t give a s@*$.’

Welcome to the world of Eddie Pepperell, a fantastic player whose Twitter feed is almost as entertaining as his golf.

He posted that tweet on Monday, and it is an indication – potty mouth and self deprecation aside – that the Englishman is pleased with his game. And that, allied to ranking eighth for Putts per Round in Oman, should be enough to get us, and him, excited.

Pepperell has a best of T4 at Doha GC from 2015.

Mikko Ilonen – $7,400 – One underrated player with stacks of Links form is Mikko Ilonen, who is a five-time European Tour winner and a former Irish Open champion.

The man from Finland was in fine form last week in Oman, ranking fifth for Putts per Round on his way to a T26 finish.

Ilonen is one of the few players with genuinely consistent course form at Doha GC to call upon, with three top-20s in his last five visits including a T2 in 2014.

Thomas Bjorn – $7,200 – Has being made Ryder Cup captain somehow had a positive impact upon Thomas Bjorn’s game? It appears so, with the Dane very much back in the groove of late.

The 15-time European Tour winner burst into life with a T30 return at another Peter Harradine design at Abu Dhabi GC just a few weeks ago, and that upswing has continued with T39 at the Maybank Championship and T31 in Oman just last week.

Bjorn has stacks of form in Links-style conditions to his name, and while his absolute salad days may be behind him it was just 2014 when the great Dane last entered the winners circle.

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