The venue for the inaugural Bahrain Championship is the Royal Golf Club, which is 7,261 yards long and has a par of 72. Exposed desert course with wide fairways. The greens are large and flat, so expect a firm, fast run.
We don’t have a strong field this week, but Rasmus Hojgaard is the current 9/1 favorite, in good form and the highest ranked golfer in the field.
Germany’s Jannik Paul is next best at 14/1. He is more than capable of winning at this level and played well last week, although he was disappointed by dropping almost inexplicable strokes at random times.
Recommended bet: Yannick Paul at the Bahrain Championship
The three golfers from 16/1 to 20/1 include Jordan Smith, Keita Nakajima and Xander Lombard. As I’ve said every week, Smith is having a hard time getting over the line on tour, but Xander Lombard has been fighting to find his groove in recent weeks and can keep it up to win tournaments. I wonder?
Nakajima is an up-and-coming Japanese golfer who won in Asia and is currently on the DP World Tour, and he certainly has the talent to win in this field.
In 22/1st place was Antoine Rozner, who had a modest but solid performance, but was a little disappointing in terms of placing himself in the competition.
A more promising player seems to be Callum Shinkwin, who finished tied for fourth in the United Arab Emirates last week. He should be able to hit the ball far on this course and 45/1 seems a reasonable two-way value.
Recommended bet: Karam Thinkwin at the Bahrain Championship
Two golfers stand out at 25/1: Alex Fitzpatrick and Sebastian Soderbergh. Fitzpatrick is still a novice at the DP World Tour level, but he returned to form again last week with a win on the Challenge Tour. Soderbergh is a winner on tour and has been in contention for the past few weeks.
Max Kiefer bounced back to form last week and climbed up the leaderboard, also finishing tied for fourth. Although it was a tougher test, the Tour winner is a good watch for the German in the coming weeks, although he may have a shaky side, and his 60/1 makes him an attractive two-way proposition. It looks like.
Recommended bet: Max Kiefer at the Bahrain Championship
Looking further down the gambling market, Andy Sullivan narrowly missed out on the slot last week. Salih has struggled to put together four rounds recently, like when he started Saturday’s round in the top group at the Dubai Classic and then was forgotten. However, he has won in this area before and while he is likely to be a dangerous punt, 90/1 could be a big number if he can hold his game well.
German prospect Freddie Schott could be on the leaderboard for a few weeks. The course suits his game and 150/1 would be a favorite.
Recommended stake summary:
- Yannick Paul, 14/1, 3 goals each way.
- Callum Shinkwin, 45/1, 1 point each way.
- Max Kiefer, 60/1, 1 point each way