The European Tour returns to the Middle East this week, after its brief visit to Australia, for the Oman Open.
This represents the Tour’s first appearance at this venue, and thus picking winners must include a degree of guesswork. That said, the Greg Norman-designed Al Mouj course is described as links-inspired, sitting beside the Indian Ocean. It has also been used on the Challenge Tour, Europe’s golfing second division.
With this in mind, players that have played the course before are likely to have a significant advantage as are those who cope well under breezy conditions.
Our first selection is Romain Wattel. The Frenchman has already won on the main European Tour, the KLM Open last year, a tournament that requires strong wind play. The French have a good record around this course, and have the additional incentive of a Ryder Cup on home territory in the autumn. We expect a strong showing.
We are also going to take a punt on Lucas Bjerregaard. The Danish star hits the ball a mile and is another European Tour winner, last year in Portugal.
It’s true he hasn’t been on best form recently, but he did finish second on this course in 2013 while playing on the Challenge Tour. At a price of 90/1 he’s worth taking a chance on.
Recommendations:
Wattel 0.5 pts each way at 50/1, 1/4 the odds for the first five places, bet365
Bjerregaard 0.5 pts each way at 90/1, 1/5 the odds for the first six places, Stan James
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