Thomas Pieters can remind everyone of his class with victory in the Ras al Khaimah Championship according to golf expert Ben Coley.
Golf betting tips: Ras al Khaimah Championship
3pts win Ryan Fox at 22/1 (General - 24.0 via Betfair Exchange)
2pts e.w. David Puig at 33/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
2pts e.w. Thomas Pieters at 45/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
1pt e.w. Alexander Bjork at 80/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
1pt e.w. Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 90/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
1pt e.w. Ivan Cantero at 150/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
Now that the stars have exited until returning in summer, the remainder of the DP World Tour's 'International Swing', a run of events which takes in five countries across two continents, will be played out by those who don't necessarily have their Rolex Series starts safely tucked away.
Unfortunately, it's still too soon for last year's Q-School graduates to get a game and that's a problem. The Ras al Khaimah Championship isn't even co-sanctioned and yet the blend of pathways and invitations and legends and form players leaves too many on the outside looking in, their prospects of earning full status for 2026 made bleaker by the week.
"They need to play faster. I am not watching six hour rounds of golf, and I love the sport."
— Sliced Podcast (@slicedpod) January 21, 2025
Is the issue of slow play getting out of hand? Ben & Sam discuss in episode 3 of Sliced.
Listen to the full episode: https://t.co/fGaXbMddMq pic.twitter.com/mVM8OcmOty
Some of those players would've hoped perhaps that Thorbjorn Olesen had gone out to Torrey Pines to begin his latest crack at the PGA Tour, or that the LIV Golf season began this week. But he hasn't and it doesn't, and that means Patrick Reed is second-favourite to Olesen, the defending champion who won this tournament in such devastating fashion a year ago.
One thing these two have in common is that they're elite putters and with the weather glorious and Al Hamra proving straightforward, certainly versus Emirates Golf Club last week, it's hard to escape the notion that we may need one of those on-side. The other aspect I like, however, is one neither has in abundance, and that's the power to cut the scoring holes down to size.
Four par-fives and one driveable four are supplemented by one more par-four that the longer hitters can go after if they want to. We saw in 2022 how Nicolai Hojgaard and RYAN FOX both employed those tactics effectively, when back-to-back events were held here, and while two subsequent renewals have thrown up players of a different profile, you only need glance behind them to be know that length is still important.
Fox then is the standout name at the head of the betting and much as I look for reasons to leave him out, I can't find any. He was excellent in Dubai last week given that he'd been off since October, benefitting it seems from a busy social schedule prior to Christmas, including a round with Rory McIlroy back home in New Zealand.
He says those rounds with friends had him feeling sharp for his return to action and really the only negative within that performance at Emirates GC was that he was a little wild off the tee, as he can be. Al Hamra though is far less punishing and I'd note that he's never been much of a factor in Dubai before, largely because he's average two fairways missed for every three he's aimed at.
Around here that figure isn't any higher but it hasn't made much of a difference, his long-game stats good in all three measured appearances. Overall his form figures read 16-MC-1-11 and he's been right in the mix early on in three of his four visits to date.
Having reached 22-under when winning (by five shots) the low winning total isn't a concern and unless Reed lights up the greens, Fox to me looks about as likely a champion as anyone. His power really could be decisive and if he can marry it with his best putting, he'll be in the mix.
This line of thinking leads me to DAVID PUIG, who might just fall in love with this place.
Although he's conceding a head start to all of those who played in Dubai, Puig was in action through to the middle of December where a contending top-20 here in the Middle East was followed by a narrow missed cut, seemingly the fault of his short-game.
Before that we'd seen him finishing third, fourth and 12th in three DP World Tour events, two of them much stronger than this, and in the process we got confirmation of his prowess off the tee as nobody drove it better than he did across those 10 measured rounds.
Also putting well, this is every inch the modern powerhouse and his game should stack up really well with Al Hamra.
At 107th in the world, this isn't all about getting sharp for the return of LIV Golf, where he's part of Sergio Garcia's team, as Puig could bag himself a start in the PGA Championship and potentially more besides should he win his first DP World Tour title, as well as earning membership should he wish to take it out.
In turn that would mark him down as another potential candidate for the Ryder Cup and while unlikely he achieves that goal this year, he certainly appears to have the potential to make it at some stage. One way or another, these invites he's receiving provide an opportunity he doesn't really get on the more financially lucrative LIV circuit.
For now though he's in form, he's ideal for the course, and he has a higher ceiling than many of these. So while it would be the more robust form credentials of Jordan Smith around a tougher venue, with a red-hot putter likely required, I'll side with this somewhat unknown quantity instead.
Take both Belgians at ideal course
Angel Ayora also made the shortlist, a fabulous young talent whose game looks similar to that of Puig. I've no doubt he's set for a breakout rookie season and it's tempting to suggest that it'll begin here, but I wouldn't want to dip below 40/1 and with that the general price, he is left out. Make no mistake, his future is bright and top-10s in Australia and South Africa made for a fine start to his rookie season.
Preference though is for THOMAS PIETERS at about the same price, which I consider to be the best value on the board.
Pieters missed the cut last week but he had a shortish putt on the 36th hole which would've seen him make the weekend had it gone in. Instead, he raced it past, missed the return, and exited without the chance to climb the leaderboard in the way that say Matty Jordan did having played his final hole in a similarly precarious position.
In general I think missed cuts have too dramatic an effect on prices and in Pieters' case, he's been eased in the ranking here because he fell on the wrong side of it. That to me presents us with an opportunity, especially as Al Hamra ought to be a course he falls in love with.
A past champion in Abu Dhabi and with top-10s in both events in Dubai, Pieters has a strong Middle East record. He also has form at courses which correlate nicely with Al Hamra, in particular Dom Pedro in Portugal and Albatross in Prague. At both of these you reach for driver upon driver knowing that the consequences for a big miss are not often severe.
That club is a huge weapon for Pieters, who can compete with anyone in this field off the tee, and it's not like he's been playing badly in general. In fact he ended last year finishing 13th and ninth in two Asian Tour events won by Peter Uihlein and Joaquin Niemann, with the likes of Louis Oosthuizen and Cam Smith in the mix.
Last spring he finished runner-up on an unsuitable course in Belgium before ninth place in the BMW International Open and what's interesting about the latter is that Reed (16/1), Fox (20/1), Keita Nakajima (25/1) and Smith (28/1) were all about the prices they are this week. Pieters was 20/1 but is now double that, and with the exception of the totally unsuitable Valderrama his form since has been rock-solid.
All we have to do is forgive him a slightly sluggish start to the year and I'm very happy to do so, knowing that this course and these conditions are made for him. The putter would really be my one nagging worry but if he drives it as he can, an above-average week on the greens will make him a major player.
Prices about Pieters' compatriot ADRIEN DUMONT DE CHASSART vary quite wildly but given that I'd accept the worst of them, he rates a strong selection at the best of them – three-figure prices on the exchanges at the time of writing seem particularly excessive and I'd be happy taking anything down to 50s.
Let's be honest though, none of us knows exactly where we stand with the Belgian, but that's no bad thing because it means bookmakers don't, either. That's why we saw Sky Bet open 40/1 and BetVictor 100/1, the sort of disagreement we just don't see very often these days.
While the former have now eased him out, I tend to think they had it about right the first time and he's certainly a player I'd be inclined to keep on-side, as a former standout collegiate player who immediately established himself as too good for the Korn Ferry Tour.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart now has 6 straight top-10s on the Korn Ferry Tour.
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) July 31, 2023
He ties the tour record for consecutive top-10s and is the only player to ever have 6 straight top-10s, including a win.
Players with 5 straight KFT top-10s include Scheffler, Cink and Zalatoris.
That was just 18 months ago and at the time, he was being talked about as a potential Ryder Cup prospect. Yes, that would've been a bit silly on the part of Luke Donald, but the European captain's determination to leave no stone unturned meant Dumont de Chassart was encouraged to come over to the DP World Tour towards the end of the qualifying process.
Of course, as he struggled it was Ludvig Aberg who won in Switzerland and featured in Rome, but the impression Dumont de Chassart created straight out of college is worth remembering now that he evidently seems set on using a new exemption category to play a full season on the DP World Tour.
The reason for doing that is he lost his PGA Tour card last year but not without a fight, finishing third in Bermuda and 25th in the RSM Classic. These aren't the strongest events by any means, but Maverick McNealy won the latter and the bottom line is this: moving from the PGA Tour to standard DP World Tour events represents a drop in grade.
I believe there's every chance Dumont de Chassart is up to this level and if we cast our minds back to last year, proven PGA Tour winner Dylan Frittelli popped up in Bahrain, where he was playing under the same FedEx Cup exemption – another reminder to pay close attention to those making the journey east.
A little later in the year, Dumont de Chassart was 50/1 for the Soudal Open, played on a far less suitable course in his native Belgium. He'd been playing reasonably in the run-up, but his best golf came at the very end of 2024 and if he can match that level back from a break, then he could certainly be a factor.
Bjork quiet no more?
Breaking from the profile, while he wouldn't have been the first name on my list I can't leave out ALEXANDER BJORK at the prices on offer.
Bjork is one of the shortest and indeed worst drivers on the DP World Tour, but he's built a successful career out of being among the best in all other departments. Certainly, if we rewind to 2023, there was nobody better if you combine iron play and putting, a deadly blend which helped to earn him a PGA Tour card.
But on the PGA Tour, driving it short and sometimes crooked is very hard to overcome, something which I fear may make for a tough campaign for Matteo Manassero. Bjork had his moments, notably around this time in a desert shootout not unalike this test, but clearly didn't settle and basically gave up on the idea during summer.
Back in Europe he's not exactly caught fire but was twice inside the top 15 in just half-a-dozen goes last year, when confidence would've been low. I wonder then whether we ought to expect improvement now he's back focused on the DP World Tour and certainly, 27th in Dubai last week was a nice way to begin the new year.
With his approaches dialled in, Bjork didn't putt as well as he can but it was that combination which led him to finish runner-up on his last start at Al Hamra. He'd been in the mix the year before, too, and even his one missed cut in four visits came by a shot. So while he's up against it off the tee, he has been able to claw it back thereafter, something I could see happening again.
Second in the DP World Tour Championship, sixth in the Dubai Desert Classic, sixth in the Qatar Masters and 13th in Abu Dhabi is a strong desert form-line, all the while handicapped by his driving, and in this sort of company I won't be at all surprised if he overcomes it again granted a better putting week.
Bjork was clearly one of the best players in Europe when last he spent a full season here. Given that he has correlating form at Albatross, Dom Pedro and Marco Simone, all of them in theory better for stronger drivers, I am willing to speculate that he can rediscover that kind of level after a nice pipe-opener at a tough golf course.
Big-hitting IVAN CANTERO made too many mistakes to hit the frame for us last week, but there was stacks of promise in his performance and he's well worth another chance as the pick of the outsiders.
Eventually T31, a birdie-birdie finish rather than bogey-bogey across those two risk-reward holes would've had him right on the cusp of the top-20 in a very strong field which featured an elite winner and several Ryder Cup candidates.
This was a continuation of the form Cantero showed late last year, first with a gutsy top-10 finish to keep his card in Korea, then with three strong performance on courses which wouldn't play to his strengths, first in Australia and then Mauritius.
Dubai was stronger company but a more suitable course with it and now, at Al Hamra, he gets both: a place he can unleash off the tee but a field where there are really only a few players who have ever, or will ever, have pretensions of reaching the levels Tyrrell Hatton has.
Cantero did miss the cut here last year but that was his first start of the campaign and he was among the best drivers over the first two rounds. Unfortunately he was among the worst putters and while that club couldn't be called reliable, it wasn't long after this event that he began holing them for fun for a while.
A formerly top-class amateur, Cantero has two top-five finishes from four starts in the UAE and there was more than enough in last week's effort to believe he can get close to winning something like this. His power off the tee should open up plenty of scoring opportunities and with so many chip-and-putt birdies available, his skills around the green are another plus.
Freddy Schott meets a similar description and having sided with him several times late last year, the big-hitting German was also on the radar along with David Ravetto, who won a low-scoring event for big-hitters in the autumn. He's done little since that red-hot fortnight but played much better for two rounds in Dubai where he signed off with one of the best rounds of the day after a back-nine 32.
I also looked closely at Chinese duo Zihao Jin and Wenyi Ding. The latter, grouped with Cantero for the first two rounds, has power and a dynamite short-game and has massive potential ahead of his first full year as a pro. Zihao meanwhile hit the ball well in Mauritius having established himself as the standout player on the China Tour, so who knows what he might be capable of.
Posted at 1400 GMT on 21/01/25
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