The final leg of the European Tour’s Desert Swing takes place in Dubai this week, with 14-time major winner Tiger Woods the star attraction, especially in the absence of the injured Rory McIlroy.
In his first five appearances in the event, Woods was never outside the top five and lifted the trophy in 2006 and 2008 but the 41-year-old was 20th and 41st respectively on his last two visits in 2011 and 2014.
The former world number one missed the cut in his first PGA Tour event since August 2015 at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open but will find the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club far more forgiving than Torrey Pines.
If he can stay healthy, odds of 33/1 on the greatest player of his generation will prove to be amazingly generous at some point this season but the world number 666 – a good or bad omen? – is someone we can afford to leave alone for now.
Woods does have the potential advantage of an early draw on Thursday alongside Masters champion Danny Willett and Matt Fitzpatrick, with the wind forecast to make life tricky for the later starters.
But our first selection is also out early and also available at 33/1, namely Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters.
Pieters did not do us any favours when he missed the cut in Abu Dhabi in his first event of the season but rounds of 73 and 72 were hardly horrendous and the big-hitting Belgian could reward a show of faith here.
Ryder Cup team-mate Chris Wood is our next selection at 40/1 thanks to some impressive course form – six top-30s in a row culminating in a tie for eighth last year – and a tie for 11th in Qatar last week. Wood’s performances in the Open also indicate he will be able to cope if the wind does play a factor.
Henrik Stenson is justifiably the favourite at 13/2 given his record in the desert and an opening 64 in Abu Dhabi but in search of better value the final pick goes to England’s Andy Sullivan.
Sullivan (28/1) finished second behind Willett 12 months ago and was fourth in 2015 while he will be keen to make amends for a disappointing final round of 74 in Qatar last week.
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