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40/1 Robert MacIntyre is tournament sharp and has a strong course record here
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Edoardo Molinari has been making fast starts in recent events and can repeat the feat at 80/1
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80/1 Joost Luiten is playing well again and that's translating into low rounds on Thursday
Weather forecast for Thursday: Sunny weather is just about a guarantee here and it'll be in the 80s for most of the golfing day. It can get gusty but the south west winds are only set to blow at a fairly constant 5-10mph on Thursday so there seems to be no obvious weather bias.
Rob's just the job
Robert MacIntyre should be nicely up to speed after contesting the Hero Cup team event and taking tied 20th at Yas Links in the last two weeks.
The Scot ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and recent winners here in Dubai have placed highly in that category.
Third for SG: Tee To Green at Yas Links, the only weak point was his putting but that can come and go and he can certainly get the flatstick hot.
MacIntyre missed the cut last year but on his first two visits he finished eighth on debut in 2020 and third in 2021.
He carded three 67s across those two events and an opening 5-under lap in 2021 put him in the top five after 18 holes.
Sixth after day one of October's Portugal Masters just four starts ago, MacIntyre can hopefully turn his impressive long game stats into a hot start from his 07.30am tee time.
Molinari making a case
Fast starts have been a feature of Edoardo Molinari's recent play and I'll back him to hit the ground running again here.
The Italian was fifth after Thursday's play in Abu Dhabi last week thanks to a 67 while he was also in the top eight following the first 18 holes of two of his previous three events.
With two top 10s and a further two top 20s in his last seven starts, Molinari is clearly in good shape and he ranked third for Greens In Regulation when posting tied 17th in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
As for this event, he was the first-round leader on the first of his 12 appearances in 2010 and also second after day one in 2014.
In his current form, Molinari looks capable of going low from his 11.40am tee time. Take the 80/1.
Look to Luiten
Joost Luiten made a run of quick starts in his final dozen events of 2022.
He was the first-round leader at his home Dutch Open and second after day one of both the Italian Open and Portugal Masters. In three others he ended Thursday in the top 10.
So how about him riding the momentum of his closing 66 in Abu Dhabi last week?
Writing on his own website this week, Luiten reflected: "On Sunday I played my best golf of the week. I hit the ball really well, gave myself a lot of chances and made seven birdies, which could have been more.
"All parts of my game feel good. The chipping issues are over now that I have my right hand up."
He admits he doesn't have the best record in Dubai but he was fourth after 54 holes and eighth at the finish in 2016. Two other times he's made the top 25.
An 80/1 shout, Luiten can charge up the leaderboard from his afternoon tee time of 12.50pm.