European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – Omega Dubai Desert Classic

2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Preview

It’s been quite the way for Shane Lowry, who won his first event in more than three-and-a-half years last week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

It feels like a lifetime ago since he burst onto the scene by winning the Irish Open as an amateur, while a subsequent victory at the Bridgestone Invitational – and second place in the US Open – have largely been lost to the annals of time.

But the Irishman has been improving in recent months, and despite a bit of a blip on Sunday in which he flip-flopped for the lead with playing partner Richard Sterne, Lowry would eventually get over the line to spark emotional scenes with his family present.

Ian Poulter of England plays his second shot on the 13th hole during…

Ian Poulter of England plays his second shot on the 13th hole during Day Four of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on January 19, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

There’s no rest for the wicked, mind you, and he will take his place in the field here as the European Tour’s desert swing continues at pace with the Dubai Desert Classic.

It’s a similar test to that presented at the Abu Dhabi GC last time out, with hot temperatures, plenty of sunshine and moderate winds.

But the Majlis Course at the Emirates Golf Club in Abu Dhabi is a lot shorter at 7,328 yards for its Par 72, with four Par 5s that all present eagle opportunities; including the 18th hole, which may serve up some shenanigans later in the week.

The fairways are fairly tight and remember that the surfaces here are rock hard and bone dry, thanks to the baking sun and high winds, and the European Tour has confirmed they have not been over-seeded this year. Everything will be fast, to say the least, this week.

Water is in play on ten holes and the rough is up, but with wind speeds at around 10mph – roughly half of what can play out at their worst, we are expecting the players to gobble up the track with a winning score somewhere in the late teens under par.

So who makes our draft for the Dubai Desert Classic?

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This Week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic Fantasy Picks

Sergio Garcia – $11,000 – There is a rich heritage of Dubai Desert Classic winners that go on to slip into the Green Jacket at The Masters; Garcia, Danny Willett, Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros and Fred Couples to name but a few, with Ernie Els – another champion in Dubai – twice finishing second at Augusta National.

Coincidence? Perhaps not, with both suiting the fade from right to left of a right hander.

And so we’re confident enough in backing Sergio, a dual Masters and Dubai Desert Classic champion.

The Spaniard got the job done the last time this event was at its classic best, before organisers tried to ‘European-ize’ the course, and so we can add plenty of weight to that performance.

Garcia has been keeping busy in all corners of the globe. He won his home Valderrama Masters, jetted off to South Africa to finish solo second in the Nedbank Challenge, was T9 in another Dubai stop-off at the DP World Tour Championship and then banked a T6 at the Hong Kong Open.

Last week he ended up T7 at the Singapore Open, and so that’s five consecutive top-10s all over the world. Form indeed ahead of a trip to a layout he loves.

Ian Poulter – $8,900 – Poults opened with a round of 66 at Abu Dhabi GC last week, and while he couldn’t quite kick on from there a T6 finish is confirmation of how well he is playing right now.

And that’s interesting, because the Englishman has plenty of love for this Majlis track.

He served up a pair of 67s on his way to T15 in 2017, and then followed up a year later with a sublime 65, amongst others, to finish up in T6.

This is a course that suits his natural game of high approaches and sublime touch around the greens, and with plenty of converging trends on side there’s no reason why Poulter can’t perform here once more.

Lee Westwood – $8,600 – Over in the US we’ve seen a couple of renaissance men – Matt Kuchar and Charles Howell III – stand out as some of the early season’s key performers.

Maybe life does begin at 40, because Westwood – another old-timer – got back into the winner’s circle himself at the Nedbank Challenge just a few starts ago.

The Englishman split with his long-term caddie Billy Foster, put his girlfriend on the bag and won in South Africa, and since then he’s banked top-20 at the DP World Tour Championship and last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC.

So he’s clearly loving life and enjoying his golf at the moment, and as something of a Middle East specialist we’re willing to have him on-side once again here. A hit-and-miss course record of MC-23-MC-9 may put some off, but Westy is playing his best golf in years right now.

Alexander Bjork – $7,900 – Another player who seems to produce his best golf on the Eastern side of the world is the Swede, Alexander Bjork.

His maiden European Tour came last year in China, and that followed T6 here at the Dubai Desert Classic and T12 at the Oman Open. T12 at the DP World Tour Championship in Abu Dhabi would follow.

Bjork didn’t pull up any trees last week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC but did open up with a round of 66, and the much-shorter layout at Majlis should suit him more anyway.

The Swede looks to be a multiple-time European Tour winner in waiting, according to many pundits, and so where better place to start that mission than in a part of the world he clearly loves.

Adrian Otaegui – $7,000 – There are two missed cuts on the recent docket of the Spaniard, but we’re willing to overlook those for a player who is generally very consistent.

A shorter hitter, it’s no real surprise he struggled at the mammoth Abu Dhabi GC, while the missed weekend before that came at the Australian PGA Championship, where after an opening 68 he took to the track in a howling gale in the second round and posted a 78.

Roll back a bit and there’s plenty to admire. T4 in the DP World Tour Championship – arguably the best return of his career – followed T3 at the Turkish Airlines Open, and those performances in elite events confirmed that Otaegui really is one to watch in 2019.

A round of 66 headlined his T22 here last year, and we’re expecting bigger and better things from him this time around.

David Horsey – $6,700 – The Englishman isn’t the best player in the world by any means, but he is a streaky putter who can put together some low numbers when the mood takes.

More often than not that seems to be the case in Dubai. He ranked fourth for Putts per Round last week at the Abu Dhabi GC on his way to T11, and at this venue last year he again ranked fourth for the same metric and finished T22; an effort which included an opening round of 63.

A love affair for fast Bermuda greens in the Middle East will keep Horsey interested, and he should outperform this paltry salary once again.

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