Golf Tips: Best bets for Phoenix Open and Qatar Masters

• Steve's backing Scheffler to complete the hat-trick at Scottsdale

• Dave says Kim should enjoy this week's course at 25/126.00

• Cantero is the man to count on in Qatar at 59/1

• Course info, players' form and outsiders to back at over 100/1101.00 

• Our Cheltenham offer is live! Get a completely free bet every weekend until the Festival

Phoenix Open tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Scheffler value to rack up the hat-trick

Steve Rawlings: "Anyone that enjoys desert golf must be considered and given the recent American Express, won three weeks ago by Sepp Straka, is also played in the desert and as part of the West Coast Swing, it's perhaps not surprising to see that a number of players have performed well at both events. Phil Mickelson, Mark Wilson and Kenny Perry have all won both this event and The American Express fairly recently and a number of players have come close to winning both...

"In what doesn't look an especially strong renewal, Scottie Scheffler simply must be backed at odds in excess of [3/1] to win the title for a third time. In each of the last four years, the world number one has either won the event or looked like doing so. Having missed the cut on debut in 2020, Scheffler contended strongly in 2021 before a poor final round saw him slip to a tie for seventh. But that was before he'd won on the PGA Tour and the finish was somewhat typical of him at the time.

"He won his first PGA Tour title here in 2022, when he got the better of Patrick Cantlay in extra-time, and Scheffler defended the title comfortably 12 months later."

Dave Tindall's each-way picks from 22/1 to 150/1

Dave Tindall: "TPC Scottsdale should be right up Tom Kim's street. The 22-year-old was only midfield on debut in 2023, although he did shoot a Friday 66. Last year he really showed his potential here by recovering from an opening 74 to fire 66-67-67. That meant he played the final 54 holes three shots better than winner Nick Taylor.

"Kim went back to his blade putter at Pebble and it worked - he finished ninth for SG: Putting - while he's strong on Bermuda greens too. If he can contend early and get the crowd fired up, this could be a very memorable week for the precociously talented Korean, who already has three PGA Tour titles to his name. Two came in the Nevada desert (Shriners in Las Vegas in 2022 and 2023) so this type of golf clearly suits him."

Find Me a 100 Winner: Four longshots chanced at between 109/1 and 189/1

Steve Rawlings: "Although last year's winner, Nick Taylor, went off at 280.0, the Phoenix Open hasn't been a great event for longshots lately and Kevin Stadler, 11 years ago, was the last man to win at a triple-figure odds before the Canadian.

"With that in mind, I wasn't in a hurry to back an outsider here, and as highlighted in the preview, I'm keen on the chances of the favourite, course specialist, Scottie Scheffler. But Nick Dunlap has drifted to a price that's impossible to ignore. Dunlap won the event that correlates best with this one - The American Express - as an amateur in January last year and he followed that with his first victory as a pro at the Barracuda Championship in July.

"He's only played in 30 PGA Tour events and that includes two missed cuts at the US Open and one in the Bermuda Championship as an amateur, so the highly talented 21-year-old is already prolific."

Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0

First-Round Leader Tips: Picks from 66/1 to 90/1

Steve Rawlings: "Rickie Fowler came so close to winning it several times and then finally did get over the line in 2019 despite a triple bogey during his final round. More importantly for this market, he's also produced a series of fast starts at TPC Scottsdale. He's twice been the first-round leader while the Californian has also ended day one in second and third.

"Fowler hasn't produced his best stuff here in recent years although he did squeeze in another 10th place in 2023 when middle rounds of 66-67 put him sixth with a round to go. He even had a hole-in-one at the seventh in round four. More recently, there have been plenty of flickers of good play. He's shot in the 60s in each of his last five PGA Tour openers and at The American Express two starts ago he threw in a Friday 62."

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "Co-designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, the course has generous fairways and fewer hazards than are present at most PGA Tour venues. Many fairways are surrounded by unofficial sandy waste. It is a layout that encourages players to blast it long and be aggressive, while the dry desert Arizona air will also assist the ball to travel further. Big hitters have generally thrived here, although not exclusively...

"Andrew Novak 75/1 might be worth an each-way punt. A podium finisher two weeks ago, the 29-year-old tied-eighth at the Phoenix Open last year and is a career-high No 75 in the world. He is yet to win at this level, but has twice finished top-three."

Qatar Masters tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Count on Cantero at 59/1

Steve Rawlings: "Driving Distance used to be a key stat at Doha, and Sami Valimaki ranked seventh when winning here in 2023, but the four course winners before him, Ewen Ferguson, Justin Harding, Eddie Pepperell and Jeunghun Wang, only ranked 46^th, 31^st, 77^th and 37^th for DD and last year's winner, Rikuya Hoshino, ranked only 33^rd. That's quite a change given 11 of the 12 winners before Wang in 2017 ranked inside the top 15 for that stat...

"After finishing 31^st at the Dubai Desert Classic, the 28-year-old Spaniard Ivan Cantero finished fifth at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and he'll feel like he should have at least made the playoff in Bahrain last week. Cantero sat tied for 82^nd place after a 73 in round one but fought back brilliantly on Friday with the lowest round of the day - a bogey-free eight under-par 64 - and would have contended the playoff if he hadn't bogeyed the 72^nd hole after finding sand off the tee.

"The big hitter has ranked eighth, 10^th and 12^th for Putting Avergage in each of his last three starts and the last three weeks have demonstrated his liking for desert golf."

Each-Way Tips: Stick with 90/1 Armitage

Matt Cooper: "He was clearly playing well in Ras Al Khaimah, finishing three clear of all but one man in the field and he has finished fifth at Doha, in 2022. He's also played some very nice links golf in the last 18 months. He was runner-up in the 2023 Dunhill Links Championship, fourth at St Francis Links in South Africa and T17 in the Irish Open at Royal County Down.

"(By the way, hopefully a few took note of last week's added reasoning for backing Armitage which was that golfers who play Green Eagle well also seem to like The Royal in Bahrain. Armitage didn't prove it but Laurie Canter did: his two wins are now Green Eagle and The Royal.)"

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "If conditions are calm, the sport's longer-drivers will have the opportunity to play all-out attacking golf. However, if the breeze picks up, this course is a totally different animal and must be handled with care. A deft touch is required around the greens, while those with morning tee times tend to enjoy more benign playing conditions...

"Three Spaniards have strong records at this week's venue. They include Jorge Campillo 25/1 who has twice been a runner-up at Doha Golf Club. The 38-year-old experienced campaigner is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, including once in Qatar but not at this week's venue. He tied-13th on Sunday in Bahrain."

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