-
Large undulating greens, plenty of desert scrub
-
Keita 20/121.00 to continue impressive run
-
Alex 25/126.00 a strong e/w contender in Bahrain
Tournament and Course Notes
• The DP World Tour tees-up in Bahrain for the first time in 13 years. The venue for the Volvo Champions event in January 2011 was The Royal which, once again, welcomes the Tour's golfers this coming week;
• The Royal Golf Club has been renovated ahead of the Bahrain Championship. These upgrades include the redesign of a number of putting surfaces on the front nine;
• The club, which is located around 12 miles south of Bahrain's capital Manama, was opened in 1999. Nine years later the course was extensively redesigned by Colin Montgomerie;
• The Royal is situated in the centre of Bahrain Island. Although the course is generally flat, the greens are undulating and large, while water comes into play on five holes, including each of the last four. There is also plenty of desert scrub to avoid.
Latest betting for this week's Bahrain Championship
Good Current Form
With no course history to analyse this week, much of the focus is on a golfer's current form.
Last week's runner-up at Al Hamra, Rasmus Hojgaard 9/110.00, is back on the starting line in the Middle East.
Rasmus has been incredibly consistent since last September's French Open and is likely to contend again.
Elsewhere, Yannick Paul 18/119.00 has posted a brace of top-10s from three starts this year, while Japan's Keita Nakajima 20/121.00 has travelled under the radar a little.
The 23-year-old is a former world No 1 amateur and has already won four times in his home country.
He tied fourth at Al Hamra on Sunday and his record on the Japan Tour, since the end of July last year, has been quite exceptional and includes a couple of wins.
Another young pro who continues to impress is Alex Fitzpatrick 25/126.00 - Matt's younger brother.
The younger sibling has opened 2024 with a brace of top-20s and would be a decent e/w selection in Bahrain.
Two higher priced hopefuls, who could emerge from the pack this week, are Aaron Cockerill 60/161.00 and Sebastian Soderberg 28/129.00.
Cockerill tied-fourth in the Rolex Series event at the Emirates in mid-January, while 33-year-old Soderberg is playing some of his best golf for a few years.
The Swede tied-ninth on Sunday, which was his third top-10 from his last six DP World Tour starts. He is a one-time winner on Tour.
Latest betting for this year's Masters Tournament
World Ranking Points
Most Points Since August 1st, 2023 (Top 10 Listed)
Pts
47.39: Thorbjorn Olesen
35.11: Rasmus Hojgaard
33.45: Zander Lombard
31.81: Keita Nakajima
29.99: Jordan Smith
29.62: Rikuya Hoshino
29.19: Alex Fitzpatrick
27.52: Connor Syme
26.08: Jeff Winther
23.97: Jorge Campillo
Only those entered this week are included in table
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves