Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 30 January 2008 / Leave a Comment

The weather in Dubai may be unseasonally mild, but our golf man Tareq Quiroz is still burning up. Can he continue his hot streak this week in the Desert Classic?

The fabulous Emirates GC in Dubai is the setting for the final leg of the Middle East swing. There is an extra buzz about the European Tour this week as Tiger is in town. His mere presence can transform an ordinary tournament into a magical occasion. Not that the Dubai Desert Classic is ordinary, of course, and rest assured this will be no pushover for Tiger.

Kaymer and Scott have powered away with the previous two tour events and I am sure that another mighty hitter will win this week's tournament. The weather in the Middle East at the moment is unseasonably cold and wetter than the players will be used to. These conditions play into the hands of the power players and you can expect them to prosper again this week.

We need to start by addressing what we plan to do with Tiger. Is he so much better than everyone else that he can just saunter away with this event as he did last week's Buick Invitational? Then consider his prohibitive odds - currently [2.02]and you have a dilemma. After deep and prolonged thought I could only conclude that you must leave Tiger out of your staking plan. He has been close in all five attempts at the event but that has only resulted in one win. Yes he was awesome last week, but he loves that event and it doesn't matter who you are; winning back to back events on two different tours is a pretty tough task.

With Tiger out of the picture we can now concentrate on finding our main fancy. We are after a big hitter, a pin shooter and someone in great form. There are a couple of guys who fit the bill but the one I can't get away from is Lee Westwood. He has a win, two seconds, a third and a fifth place in five of his last six tournaments. That kind of form and just the way he has been hitting the ball suggests to me that he is the man to tame the Tiger. Get on now at [17.5] and you will not be disappointed with your rewards come Sunday afternoon.

Westwood is a cracking bet but it will pay to avoid complacency and check the market out for further value. You don't have to go too far to find the first tempting price as just below Westwood in the betting is Sergio Garcia. He isn't exactly a massive outsider but at odds of around [30] I will be covering my Westwood punt with a nice saver on the Spanish enigma. Seventh last week and slowly playing his way into form you cannot ignore him at odds similar to what he has been to win a major in recent times.

Having unearthed Edfors last week at [300.0] I feel that there must be something similar lurking in the lower reaches of the market this week that can make for great trading opportunities. There are a few candidates but I keep coming back to Steve Webster. He seems to have completely rebuilt his game and for the first time in his career has found the commodity he has always lacked, consistency. Webster has more wins in him and at current odds of around [210.0] he is a must bet this week as I am sure he will be in contention heading into the weekend.

The modern game is all about power and there are so many players now that can completely overpower a course. Monty's sixth place last week is testament to how well he strikes the ball despite often being 20 yards behind his playing partners off the tee. Is he a dying breed though? Can young players still come through the ranks even if they aren't power hitters?

I think the opportunity is still there for them and I am against all talk of trying to reduce distances that players hit the ball by regulating the manufacturing of the clubs and balls. Why should players who hit the ball a long way be restricted? Surely this is just an asset in the same way being a great putter is a valuable asset. It's a hot topic and one I will raise at any given opportunity. If you have any thoughts on this matter I would like to hear them.

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