Dubai Desert Classic First-Round Leader Tips: Three Selections from 66/1 to 100/1

• 66/167.00 Antoine Rozner excels in the desert

• 100/1101.00 Scott Jamieson is a proven fast starter

• 80/181.00 Andy Sullivan mixes both desert and R1 prowess

Weather forecast for Thursday

While the winds will really blow on Wednesday, conditions look much calmer for Thursday's opening round.

Flags will almost hang limp mid morning before it picks up to something towards 10mph in the afternoon.

There's not a huge discrepancy but it looks as if the morning starters get the slightly better deal.

Back Antoine Rozner @ 66/167.00

Rory McIlroy has been the first-round leader in this event no less than four times and a bet at 10/111.00 on the Northern Irishman making it five from his 08.10 tee-time is not without merit.

After all, Rory repeating the feat here seems far more straightforward than the drama of landing a fifth major and, for context, he's just 15/2 to win April's Masters.

I digress. The headline tip this week is another man with a big liking for golf in the Middle East.

Antoine Rozner's first DP World Tour win came in 2020's Golf in Dubai Championship and he followed that by taking the 2021 Qatar Masters.

Ninth on his debut in this event in 2021, the Frenchman has performed well in the first round of his last two starts in the region

He was fourth after 18 holes of November's DP World Tour Championship and 10th following the opening lap of last week's Dubai Invitational.

A Thursday 62 and subsequent first-round lead in the Mauritius Open just before Christmas is further reason to back him here. He tees off at 08.20 from the 10th.

Back Scott Jamieson @ 100/1101.00

Scott Jamieson often hits the ground running and he showed that at the end of 2023 by being first-round leader in October's Qatar Masters and placing fourth after day one of December's Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The quick start in Qatar hints at a liking for Thursdays in the desert and a brief search reveals it's a real thing.

In Jamieson's last seven appearances in the UAE he's twice set the pace on day one. A 63 secured FRL honours in the 2022 Abu Dhabi Championship while a 65 put him on top at the Ras al Khaimah Championship a month later.

As for this event, he's done his best work on day one as highlighted by a R1 scoring average of 69.83.

He's been second and third after round one and, overall here, has ended the opening lap in the top 20 six times.

This is his first start of the season but don't be surprised if he flourishes when teeing off in the second group out from the 1st at 07.20.

Back Andy Sullivan @ 80/181.00

Andy Sullivan, like Jamieson, is a regular in this column and rightly so after landing some hefty each-way cash at big prices.

And it's hard to ignore him again here at juicy odds.

Last spring the Englishman had a five-tournament spell in which he held a first-round lead in the ISPS Handa Championship and was second after day one of both the Korea Championship and KLM Open.

He also ended 2023 with a string of fast starts, carding openers of 67, 66, 67 and 68 to record respective first-round positions of seventh, third, third and 10th.

He's also twice been a first-round leader in the Middle East (DP World Tour Championship and Golf in Dubai Championship) and in this event he's posted finishes of second, fourth and sixth, once opening with a 65.

Sullivan starts at 11.50 but should be able to handle the winds when they pick up slightly later in his round.

Now read Dave's preview of The American Express