European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – DP World Tour Championship

2018 DP World Tour Championship Preview

And so here we are: the European Tour prepares for its curtain call at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

This is the last event of the season, the conclusion of the Race to Dubai series, and the last chance that fans of the Tour will get to see the best the continent has to offer in action in 2018.

As far as the Race to Dubai series goes, it’s ‘Moliwood’ who are in prime position to convert. Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood sit first and second in the standings, and it will take some effort to remove them from the top spots.

Mind you, what a field will convene in Dubai for this finale. Justin Rose may not be here, but Xander Schauffele – who can curiously still win the Race to Dubai despite only teeing up once on European soil – is, and so are the likes of Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed.

Embed from Getty Images

For once, the European Tour is in charge on a DFS gameweek!

The high-quality field will be greeted by a very friendly track in Dubai. The Jumeirah Estates plays host to the Earth Course, designed by the Great White Shark himself, Greg Norman.

It’s super-long – a whopping 7,830 yards – for its Par of 72, but it’s not an overly difficult assignment with winning scores in the late teens or early twenties under par commonplace here.

The fairways are very wide and easy to hit, and so too are the Bermuda greens; players should be wary of some pretty stealthy run-off areas however that will spit balls out tens of yards from the dancefloor.

Otherwise there’s nothing to worry about, apart from the desert heat and occasional high winds that whip up in this part of the world.

So, who makes the grade for our DP World Tour Championship line-up?

[membership level=”0″]

This Week’s DP World Tour Championship Fantasy Picks & Predictions

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

This Week’s DP World Tour Championship Fantasy Picks

Sergio Garcia – $11,900 – It was strange to see Sergio Garcia build a commanding lead at the Nedbank Challenge last week and not convert.

The Spaniard was four shots ahead after the opening round and two clear heading into the final round, but his putter went cold on Sunday and he couldn’t complete the job.

But that should not detract from the fact that he put on another ball-striking masterclass – ranking first for GIR, with 83% of greens found, and also that he was one solid round away from back-to-back wins on the European Tour.

Garcia has twice won in the desert before at the Qatar Masters and Dubai Desert Classic, and he will be looking to make it a hat-trick this week.

Patrick Reed – $9,400 – Once again, Reed has been overlooked by the DraftKings salary setters.

A price of $9,400 is an absolute steal for a major champion for whom this course is set up perfectly.

As a Texan, desert golf holds no fear for ‘Captain America’, and it’s no surprise that he’s banked two top-10 finishes in his pair of starts on the Earth Course.

He seemingly has a penchant for Greg Normal golf courses too, having finished second at TPC San Antonio, and coming into this event on the back of a top-10 at the WGC HSBC Champions should give Reed – never knowingly short of confidence – even more of a strut as he looks to tame Europe’s best.

Matt Fitzpatrick – $8,200 – Bold statement time, but at some point in the near future we think it’s probable, not possible, that Matt Fitzpatrick will be regarded as one of the elite European players in world golf.

At the age of 24, he has five European Tour wins to his name, has finished T7 and T12 in the Masters and US Open respectively, and played for Europe in the Ryder Cup.

Fitzpatrick is destined for bigger and better things, and so it’s wise to have him on board at such an agreeable price while we can – particularly as he has already won at this course back in 2016.

His most recent victory came in September at the European Masters, which came a matter of weeks after the triumphant European Ryder Cup team. Witnessing those celebrations would have bred feelings of jealousy in the 24-year-old, and you can bet your bottom dollar he goes out determined to outperform Moliwood and co this week.

Martin Kaymer – $7,200 – It’s been a bleak few years for the two-time major champion, but just recently there have been signs of improvement from Martin Kaymer.

The German finished T15 at the KLM Open and T5 at the Turkish Airlines Open in the past few weeks, and last time out he played some good stuff at the Nedbank Challenge too, recovering well from an opening 76 to finish T21.

Kaymer was outstanding off the tee at Sun City, and if that travels with him to Dubai he could be in for another good week.

And why wouldn’t it: he is a three-time winner in the desert after all.

Dean Burmester – $6,900 – This is a good little juncture of the season for Dean Burmester, who loves teeing up at Sun City.

Last year he tuned up nicely on his home South African soil before heading to Dubai, where he finished T4 after sitting just shots back heading into the final round.

And so last week’s T11 at the Nedbank Challenge, where he ranked T8 for Greens in Regulation, is a welcome warm-up.

Burmester also ranked first for Driving Distance – he is prodigiously long off the tee – and that’s a weapon that will stand him in very good stead this week.

Mike Lorenzo-Vera – $6,400 – A derisory price here for a Frenchman who loves a long test.

He absolutely striped his tee shots at Sun City last time out, finding 55% of fairways from an average distance of 325 yards, and so he’s another who looks well set for the Earth Course.

Those tee numbers led to a high GIR count (70%), and it was only a cold putter that prevented the Frenchman from improving upon his T11 finish.

That was a nice look ahead of a trip to a course on which he finished T13 a year ago.

[/membership]

Cover photo via Instagram