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40/141.00 Johannes Veerman likes Al Hamra and keeps making fast starts
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100/1101.00 Ricardo Gouveia was FRL last week and has twice opened with 65 here
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80/181.00 Jason Scrivener has an appealing mix of FRL form
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Weather forecast for Thursday
It takes a little while to heat up and temperatures peak in the high 70s around 1pm having started out in the early 60s at 7am.
Winds are pretty calm for most of the day although they could pick up a little to around 12mph around 4pm.
There's nothing leaping out in terms of draw bias so it's fair to pick freely regardless of tee-times.
After ending 2024 by winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, Johannes Veerman looked set for a big start to 2025 as he sat 12th with a round to go in last week's Dubai Desert Classic.
It was fuelled by an opening 68 although the American's hopes faded on Sunday as he slid to 37th.
However, he looks a good bet to get out of the blocks quickly again here.
Veerman enjoys Al Hamra and has first-round positions of 3rd, 11th, 11th. He turned two of those into top 20 finishes.
The big hitter has a habit of making fast starts and has resided in the top 20 after 18 holes in each of his last seven worldwide events, four of those being in the top 10.
His best opener was a 63 in November's Abu Dhabi Championship, good enough for second place on the Thursday leaderboard, and going low on day one in the desert seems to be a habit of his.
Let's follow the trend and back Veerman at 40s from his 12.45 tee-time.
Back Johannes Veerman each-way
Ricardo Gouveia was a surprise first-round leader in last week's Dubai Desert Classic and it's easy to dismiss that as a one-off.
The Portuguese golfer eventually finished 14th and that represented another good week following his third place at the Genesis Championship in Korea three starts earlier followed by a top 25 in the Australian PGA.
What makes him intriguing this week is that in his last two starts at Al Hamra he's opened with a 65 both times. The first, in 2022, put him second after the opening lap while the second left him fourth after 18 holes last year.
Gouveia had to finish in the top five at the Genesis in October to keep his card so pulling it off with a top three will have done his confidence a world of good.
He's already reaped the benefits with a decent pay day in Dubai and can stay on a roll with a bright start here. The 100/1101.00 shot hits away at 13.05.
Back Ricardo Gouveia each-way
For a morning starter (07.10) I'll try 80/181.00 shot Jason Scrivener.
Like the first two picks, the Aussie has also made a dent on the day one leaderboard here, shooting a 66 to sit third in 2022. He was second at halfway before finishing ninth.
Scrivener's Thursday 67 put him fifth on the R1 leaderboard in Dubai last week and he made some quick starts (63 Western Australian Open) when returning Down Under for the last few months of 2024.
Using the filter of events held in the UAE, Scrivener would have landed the FRL each-way cash in three of his last six starts in the region thanks to that 66 here in 2022, his 67 in Dubai last week and an opening 65 at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Championship.
Back Jason Scrivener each-way