The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is kicking off the season again on the DP World Tour in 2025. It’s the curtain-raiser, like the Community Shield in football, except this actually means something.
A plethora of European stars are teeing it up at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood are all having a crack.
Now, it is for me to find you a winner. It won’t be easy but I think I’ve narrowed it down to three players who I believe can make the perfect start to 2025 by winning the first Rolex Series event of the 2025 season.
Take a look at my Dubai Desert Classic betting column here.
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Hero Dubai Desert Classic betting tips
Venue: Emirates GC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Date: January 16-19, 2024
Course stats: Par 72, 7439 yards
Defending champion: Rory McIlroy (-14)
Rory McIlroy @ 10/3
Sorry for the lack of imagination in this pick, but Rory McIlroy is most likely to win and at least give you a run for your money this week. He has won the last two Hero Dubai Desert Classics and very much asserts himself as ‘the man’ at these Rolex Series Events on the DP World Tour.
He has won seven times in Dubai, so the four-time major champion clearly feels at ease playing in this part of the UAE, and enjoys the kind course conditions which suit his raking drives and towering wedges. It might be his first season appearance, but nothing would be more predictable if he completed the consecutive Dubai hatrick.
It’s not a good price, sure. But it will be if and when he wins.
Thriston Lawrence @ 60/1
Thriston Lawrence has proven himself as one of the top players on the DP World Tour and he will have the chance to do the same on the PGA Tour in 2025 with a shiny new card. The South African looked set to win The Open at Troon in 2024 if it weren’t for the brilliance of Xander Schauffele.
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He might not have won since 2023, but this doesn’t represent his form. He came tied for second at Wentworth last season, second at the Jonsson Workwear, the British Masters and the European Open. If you were a Lawrence backer in 2024, you’d have been desperately unlucky not to be deep in the green.
He averages 323 yards off the tee. His price might speak to the fact he’s missed the cut three years in a row at this event, but Lawrence is a different player now and he is set for a PGA Tour campaign too. His game face will be on, and there is plenty of juice in this 60/1 mark.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen @ 80/1
Rasmus Neergard-Petersen has limited experience on the DP World Tour, but there has been much impressive play in his small pool of starts. He came tied for seventh on his DP World Tour debut at the 2023 BMW International Open and came tied for 22nd later that season at the Alfred Dunhill in Scotland.
Where he has lacked time on the DP World Tour, Neergaard-Petersen has excelled on the Challenge Tour. He won three times in the division below in 2024 and came tied for second at the Challenge Tour Grand Final. He came tied for 8th at the Australian PGA after another solid showing at the Alfred Dunhill in tied for fourth.
This is a bigger deal for the Dane, but his impressive play on the Challenge Tour in 2024 can only suggest promise and excitement for what lies ahead in 2025. At a big price, let’s see what Neergaard-Petersen can do when tackling the DP World Tour full-time.
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What do you think about our betting tips for this week’s golf at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic? Let me know with a post on X!
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