Ras al Khaimah Classic Each-Way Tips: Spanish can take centre stage at Al Hamra

Main Bet: Adrian Otaegui 1pt each-way @ 40/1

For a fifth time in the post-Covid lockdown era the DP World Tour is doubling up: a second week, a second event, the same course.

It's previously happened at Celtic Manor in Wales in the summer of 2020, at Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus later that year, at the Karen Country Club in Kenya just under a year ago, and at Costa Adeje on Tenerife last spring.

It's not ideal, but it bolsters the schedule and has actually worked better in practice than we might have expected when the idea was first mooted.

What has also been notable is that the first week has often dropped a few hints about the second.

In Wales, Romain Langasque hadn't played the first event before winning the second, but runner-up Sami Valimaki had been second, third placed Matthew Jordan had been sixth at halfway, and our 100/1 pick Sebastian Soderberg (fifth, but bang in the hunt right till his approach at the last) had been third after 54 holes.

What of the second Cyprus event? Winner Robert MacIntyre had been third a week before and the three men sharing fourth had been first, sixth at halfway and second with 18 holes remaining.

Kenya? Calum Hill and Sam Horsfield were tied third in the second week, having both shared eighth seven days earlier. Jacques Kruyswijk was fifth both weeks.

And on Tenerife? Winner Garrick Higgo had been eighth the week before, while Dean Burmester backed up his win with fourth.

All of which is a straightforward enough way of explaining why two of this week's picks are based on them playing well last week, allied to the crucial factor that I wonder if that has been a little overlooked.

The first is Spain's Adrian Otaegui who thrashed a second round 63 to jump into a share of third and had something of a rebound from that, only adding a Saturday 70.

But he was back in the groove on Sunday, with a 67, that lifted him into a share of third again.

The 29-year-old is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour and he knows how to go low to win, carding a 62 and a 63 when lifting the 2020 Scottish Championship.

More of the same might be required this week and I like that two of his three wins at this level have come straight off top five finishes.

With those three wins to his name and plenty of good golf last week (including a very hot putter) there's something in his price for this second crack at the course.

Next Best: Pablo Larrazabal 1pt each-way @ 35/1

Second pick is another Spaniard, but one who didn't play this course last week.

Instead, Pablo Larrazabal was at Royal Greens GC where he carded four straight rounds of 68 to land tied sixth in the Saudi International, his best finish in four visits there.

This week will be his first look at the course, but he's played the design team's tracks before in the Middle East and frequently enjoyed them.

He's made his last five cuts at Doha GC, including tied fourth, T13th and T27th (when outside the top 100 after 18 holes).

His record at Abu Dhabi GC is even better, with victory in 2014, second in 2017, tied sixth 2019 and T11th in 2011.

Nor was last week's effort his only decent golf since the return from the winter break.

He was T25th to open the year at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship's new course and then T35th in the Dubai Desert Classic.

That latter effort was his third-best return from 14 starts at the Emirates GC, and featured a 67 which was his third-best 18 hole score in no less than 44 circuits of the track.

Third bet: David Law 0.5pt each-way @ 80/1

Third pick came down to a choice between Tapio Pulkannen and David Law, with the Scot getting the vote.

Both of them played well last week before fading on Sunday and, as we saw above, placed golfers have coped with a near-miss in week one of these double-headers before repeating.

Law earns the vote because his track record is deeper (he also had excellent Strokes Gained Approach stats last week).

In fact, he was T11th at the course in 2016 (when fifth going into the final round), T19th with a final round 66 in 2017, eighth at halfway ahead of finishing T25th in 2018, and he carded 66-64-69-73 last week (when two clear at halfway).

He seems to be in a good mental spot at the moment, saying last Friday: "It's about giving myself opportunities. It's not about putting pressure on myself to go and win again. If I keep knocking on the door and giving myself chances, I'll hopefully win one of them."

Final Bet: Marcus Kinhult 0.5pt each-way @ 250/1

Last week's third pick Marcus Kinhult had to pull out (well ahead of the start) following a positive Covid test, but he's in the field this week and I don't want to miss out so here's a quick repeat of his case.

Six years ago he was not only tied fourth in this event, but had led the field by two strokes through 54 holes, eventually carding 68-67-65-72. He returned a year later with 73-71-65-70 to land T19th.

He's also enjoyed plenty of other good returns in the Middle East: second at Al Mouj in Oman on the second tier, T19th on the first tier at the same venue, T22nd, T16th and T32nd at Jumeirah, T18th at Royal Greens, seventh at Education City, and third at Doha.

The latter is a course designed by the Harradine Group, as this one is, too.

The form is a concern. He did close out the year with his best round and result: a 64 for T24th in the Dubai Championship. And he did open this year with a nice 68 to be T12th after round one in Abu Dhabi, but finished T75th and missed the cut last week.

But the price is big enough to accommodate that concern and he did win the British Masters off four missed cuts and a round of 80.

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