Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic 2022: Course and current form stats

It's week two of the DP World Tour's 'Middle East Swing', as the players travel 60 miles north from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

This will be the second of four straight weeks in the United Arab Emirates, with the sponsors offering another lucrative prize fund of $8m for this Rolex Series event.

The Dubai Desert Classic is the oldest and longest-running Tour event on the Arabian Peninsula, making its debut in March 1989.

And this will be the 31st time that Emirates Golf Club has been part of the DP World Tour calendar.

Course Characteristics

Opened in 1988, the Majlis Course at Emirates is largely flat and laid out a few miles south of Dubai City centre.

Designed by American architect Karl Litten, it was the first grass course to be opened in the Middle East.

Water comes into play on eight holes, while the greens are reasonably tame and uncomplicated.

The game's longer hitters have generally thrived in the dry desert conditions at Emirates, although the stats illustrate that accuracy remains a vital ingredient from tee-to-green.

In each of the last three instalments, Greens in Regulation has been a significant statistic regarding the eventual champion.

In 2019, winner Bryson DeChambeau was fourth in this category, while the two most recent champions, Lucas Herbert (2020) and Paul Casey (2020), were both fifth.

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However, the greens did undergo a major renovation last year. Director of Agronomy at Emirates Golf Club, Matthew Perry, told Dubaigolf.com: "We have re-created the original size of all 18 greens, as designed by Karl Litten in the 1980s.

"This has resulted in an overall 33% increase in green size, while bringing many more greenside bunkers into play. On the first hole, the size of the putting surface increased by as much as 67%.

"The greens have been rebuilt using layers of drainage, gravel and sand. This classic course has been brought into the 21st century and it now measures 7,400 yards from the back tees."

Latest betting for this week's Dubai Desert Classic

Stroke Averages

Lowest 12 At Emirates (2016-21)
Average....(Rounds)
68.90: Tyrrell Hatton (20)
69.10: Sergio Garcia (20)
69.13: Thorbjorn Olesen (16)
69.58: Lucas Herbert (12)
69.72: Ian Poulter (18)
69.90: Rafael Cabrera-Bello (20)
69.92: Adri Arnaus (12)
70.00: Kalle Samooja (12)
70.00: Henrik Stenson (20)
70.06: Dean Burmester (16)
70.09: Ashun Wu (22)
70.17: Shane Lowry (12)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Most Top 10s

In Middle East Tournaments (since 1.1.2017)
8: Sergio Garcia
7: Tommy Fleetwood
7: Tyrrell Hatton
6: George Coetzee
6: Chris Paisley
6: Thomas Pieters
6: Ian Poulter
Only those entered this week are included in table

Four To Watch

Tyrrell Hatton: The world No 22 hasn't won since January of last year, since when his ranking has dropped 17 spots. However, he tied-6th last week at Yas Links and has twice stood on the podium at Emirates.

Nicolai Hojgaard: Although an outsider in a field of this quality, the young Dane has strong tee-to-green statistics and can belt a long ball too. He makes his Emirates debut and is good enough to test the more established stars.

Shane Lowry: Played well for three days last week but tailed off in round four to finish tied-12th. No stranger to winning in the Middle East.

Bernd Wiesberger: A decent each-way candidate and potential winner. The Austrian tied-12th last week in Abu Dhabi and has twice posted top-six finishes in this event.

Latest betting ahead of April's Masters Tournament

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Note: List Contains Leading Reserves