Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt) * Note that stakes have been lowered relative to last year *
David Howell to win 12/1 e.w. available generally
This is a good field, but Howell has now converted his consistency of previous seasons into a genuine title challenger every time he plays on the European Tour. He ended 2005 as the top-ranked English player in the World Rankings, two place ahead of Luke Donald and that is quite an achievement. His new, higher level of consistency is just as apparent in the Middle East where he has finished in the top-10 in each of the last two years in the Dubai Desert Classic and in each of the last three years in the Qatar Masters. With no course form to go on, these should be good indicators and it all augurs well for yet another very high finish from the player who sits at the top of the European Tour Order of Merit.
Paul Casey to win 25/1 e.w. available generally
In second place in the Order of merit is Paul Casey and his story is not one of consistency, but of recovery from a serious case of foot-in-the mouth! That recovery appears to be complete with five finishes of 7th or better in eight starts from September onwards last year and when finishing 5th in MasterCard Masters in Australia last year, not only was he hitting the ball a long way off the tee as usual, he was also ranked 2nd in driving accuracy and greens in regulation as well. His game has certainly returned to the level that it was when finishing 12th in Dubai two years ago and he represents good value at these odds.
Jyoti Randhawa to finish in the top-five 25/1 @ BetFred
I would have preferred to back Randhawa in the 'top-10 finish' market, but he is best-priced at only 15/2 with Stan James, so no value there. The reasons are that he has finished 13th (2003) and 11th (2005) in his last two starts in the Dubai Desert Classic and finished 12th in the 2005 Qatar Masters, so he is competitive on this Tour even there is a larger jump to a top-5 finish. Naturally he is much more competitive on the Asian PGA Tour, but the Middle East seems to be a place where he can be backed on this Tour to contend at least.
David Howell to win 12/1 e.w. available generally
This is a good field, but Howell has now converted his consistency of previous seasons into a genuine title challenger every time he plays on the European Tour. He ended 2005 as the top-ranked English player in the World Rankings, two place ahead of Luke Donald and that is quite an achievement. His new, higher level of consistency is just as apparent in the Middle East where he has finished in the top-10 in each of the last two years in the Dubai Desert Classic and in each of the last three years in the Qatar Masters. With no course form to go on, these should be good indicators and it all augurs well for yet another very high finish from the player who sits at the top of the European Tour Order of Merit.
Paul Casey to win 25/1 e.w. available generally
In second place in the Order of merit is Paul Casey and his story is not one of consistency, but of recovery from a serious case of foot-in-the mouth! That recovery appears to be complete with five finishes of 7th or better in eight starts from September onwards last year and when finishing 5th in MasterCard Masters in Australia last year, not only was he hitting the ball a long way off the tee as usual, he was also ranked 2nd in driving accuracy and greens in regulation as well. His game has certainly returned to the level that it was when finishing 12th in Dubai two years ago and he represents good value at these odds.
Jyoti Randhawa to finish in the top-five 25/1 @ BetFred
I would have preferred to back Randhawa in the 'top-10 finish' market, but he is best-priced at only 15/2 with Stan James, so no value there. The reasons are that he has finished 13th (2003) and 11th (2005) in his last two starts in the Dubai Desert Classic and finished 12th in the 2005 Qatar Masters, so he is competitive on this Tour even there is a larger jump to a top-5 finish. Naturally he is much more competitive on the Asian PGA Tour, but the Middle East seems to be a place where he can be backed on this Tour to contend at least.
