Golf Events / Editor / 02 February 2007 /

The Dubai Desert Classic has an enthralling look to it after a second day that was badly disrupted by thunderstorms and over half-an-inch of rain in the Arab peninsula.

Over half of the field failed to complete the 36 holes, so no cut has yet been made and the remaining second round holes will be completed on Saturday morning from 7.00am GMT - the cut looks likely to come at around one-under par, some 13 shots back of the second day leader Ross Fisher.

Fisher, along with his namesake Oliver, is one of the European Tour's up and coming young professionals, and his play over the first two days at the birdie-friendly Emirates Golf Club has been outstanding. But for two bogeys at the tough sixth, he would be blemish-free through 36 holes and possibly looking at an even bigger advantage.

The Wentworth pro has always been a long hitter of the ball, but it has been his putting so far that has impressed, with only 51 putts through 36 holes some way better than his putting average in 2006, his first full season on the main tour.

As yet though, he has been unable to turn his good performances into a win, but his three top-five finishes last year should put him in good stead for a solid weekend despite the quality of the rivals that are lining up to battle with him.

That is reason why Fisher remains available at 12 on Betfair's in-play win market - competition from the likes of Ernie Els and world No 1 Tiger Woods could prove too much for him over the weekend and punters have pounced on that fact.

Els is in the best position going into the final 36 holes, or 40 in his case, as he will have to come back early on Saturday to complete round two. The South African is currently the 2.34 favourite and there is every chance that he could even lead by the time he completes round two - he has also dropped only two shots so far and the closing stretch at Emirates is not the most frightening in golf despite the amount of water at hand.

'Big Easy' is also the 1.81 favourite in the win market without Woods, with Fisher at 3.15 and Henrik Stenson at 4.3 after yet another cracking round in the Middle East for the Swede, who always seems to perform well in Qatar and Dubai.

Despite the presence of Woods in among the leaders, it is no surprise to see Els as the current favourite given his recent record at the course; taking into account his position at 12-under through 32 holes this week he is now 95-under in 22 rounds and boasts a record of 2-1-3T-2-1 in his last five completed tournaments there.

Woods (3.65) himself loves playing in Dubai as well and he has had the chances to be a lot better than his current position of nine-under - his 58 putts so far is some eight more than Fisher, who is not usually renowned as a great player in and around the greens.

Should he find his 'A' game over the weekend, a five-shot deficit may not be too much to overcome, and punters have enough knowledge about his game and previous tournaments to realise that any position is not too much for Woods. He is the defending champion, beating Els last year, and has two other top five finishes in his other two visits.

Woods and Els are also bracketed together in a 'Big 2 versus the Field' market that is available in play and sees them rated a 1.38 shot to win the tournament, with the field a 3 outsider at the halfway stage. Surprisingly, given the position in the outright market, Woods is also favoured at 1.45 in a straight-up match bet against Els (1.55) although market margins are not favourable at the moment.

Of the remainder, Stenson (9.4) probably makes the most appeal because of his recent Middle East form and the fact that he has dropped even less shots so far than the remaining leading contenders - just one bogey four at the seventh on the first day - and he has the chance to close further on Fisher with four holes of his second round left to play.

Miguel Angel Jimenez (30) and Stuart Appleby (40) are other in-form previous winners in touch with the leader, while Graeme McDowell looks dangerous on 10-under-par, just four off the lead.

Betfair will have a number of in-play options running all weekend so keep an eye on the website to make the most of the chances on offer.

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