Qatar Masters Open Tips & Odds 2023 for the field

The DP World Tour moves to Qatar this week and our man Jamie Broadhurst returns with four each-way selections ranging from 22/1 to 175/1.

The Qatar Masters has been a feature on differing Tours since established in 1998, going from the Asian Tour to the Challenge Tour and now having found a permanent home on the DP World Tour. Even though it has featured on at least three of the professional golf tours, the tournament has always been staged at Doha Golf Club, situated in Doha, Qatar. The current record score for the Qatar Masters is held by Paul Lawrie when he won here in 1999 and Adam Scott, champion here in 2008. Both golfers finished their respective weeks on a score of 20 under par. Ewen Ferguson comes here as the defending champion after an impressive win in 2022 at a score of Seven under par. 

• Par 72
• 7466 yards
• Peter Harradine original design, 1997
• 4 x Par 3s - ranging from 155 – 235 yards
• 10 x Par 4s – ranging from 307 – 484 yards
• 4 x Par 5s - ranging from 548 – 659 yards

Peter Harradine, the designer of Doha Golf Club is also responsible for designing the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the Middle East. Between the 2019 edition of the Qatar Masters and last year's edition there were two major transformations to Doha Golf Club. The 9th hole green and then 18th greens have been joined to form one large landing area, and with both holes being Par-5s it really has given the players something extra to consider when playing their approach shots as they need to avoid leaving themselves 100+ feet for their 3rd/4th shots on the green.

During this transformation, the grass was re-laid on all greens from a Bermuda strand of grass to a Paspalum strain of grass called ‘Dynasty Grass’ which last year ran a lot quicker than previous years, so definitely one to note. Paspalum is also a very strange surface to putt on with changes in grain very common and therefore can mean that golf balls do not run as true as they would on a Bermuda/Bentgrass surface.

• 2022 – Ewen Ferguson -7
• 2021 – Antoine Rozner -8 (Played at Education City GC)
• 2020 – Jorge Campillo -13 (Playoff win over David Drysdale at Education City GC)
• 2019 – Justin Harding -13
• 2018 – Eddie Pepperell -18

Fairways are wider than average this week but the rough is not penal, so long drivers are the play this week with not much attention being paid to accuracy. Looking at the set up and previous stats of winners, Doha Golf Club is very much a second shot golf course, with greens needed to be found in the correct areas to avoid the severe contours where possible, and to make the lives easier of the professionals to optimise their Eagle/Birdie chances on the easier holes. Further emphasising the second shot angle to Doha Golf Course, 3 of the 4 Par-5s are above 580 yards, with two of them being above 610. Therefore, they will mostly be ‘3 shots’ holes for the golfers, meaning their approach play on these Par-5s will need to be dialled-in if they want to compete this week.

Strokes Gained Off the Tee -
With wide open fairways this week, driving shouldn’t be an issue for any of the professionals, but I still want someone who will consistently drive it powerfully and put it in the right places on these fairways to give them the best chance of hitting these contoured greens.

Strokes Gained Approach/Greens in Regulation -
Contoured/sloped greens are the theme of this week, therefore we need consistent and solid ball strikers that turn up week in week out the Tour to make sure they are found in regulation regularly and in good proximity to the hole. Just like last week, wind looks to be a factor this year in Doha, just like it seems to be each year it is here, due to the lack of protection on the course from Trees/Hills. This will only emphasise the need for strong iron play all week to cut though the strong winds.

Qatar Masters Tips

Thorbjorn Olesen - each-way 8 places

Keeping it at four picks for you all this week again! All 1.25pts each way in the 8 places market on bet365, good luck all! Let’s keep the profit rolling.

Thorbjorn Olesen 22/1
Recent Form – 9-17-WD-10-33
Course Form – 12-MC-57-2-MC-3

Solid ball strikers are the play of the week with guys who drive the ball exceptionally well, step forward Thorbjorn ‘Thunder bear’ Olesen. The 7-time DP World Tour champion is always a force to be reckoned with, but his really consistent form of late on some really demanding courses really does catch the eye indeed.

A 9th placed finish in Andalucia last week went quite under the radar, as he never really contended at any stage, but went about his business nice and quietly. In the process he recorded a 1st place in the Greens in Regulation statistic, where he hit over 84% of the greens in regulation, and also recorded a top-15 finish in both the Strokes Gained: Tee2Green and Approach categories. Olesen is playing some really nice stuff right now and I feel this is a time to get on him, even if he is 3rd favourite in the wide open betting market.

Richard Mansell - each-way 8 places

Richard Mansell 35/1
Recent Form – 3-6-67-28
Course Form – DEBUT

Rich Mansell is next in the market and is starting to show signs of his performances towards the back end of the 2022 DP World Tour season and the start of this year. He then went away and attempted a couple of slight tweaks in his swing which didn’t work out for him and then he got married a couple of months back.

It has been a busy time for Richard but the last two performances have been really intriguing to me and he did have a sniff of 1st place at one stage last week down the closing stretch of holes. Top-5 for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, Approach, Tee2Green and Greens in Regulation last week on his way to a 3rd place finish is more than enough evidence for me to take him at 35/1 this week.

Tapio Pulkkanen - each-way 8 places

Tapio Pulkkanen 150/1
Recent Form – 13-61-MC-70-MC
Course Form – 49-42-MC

12th for strokes gained: Off the Tee, 2nd for Strokes Gained: Tee2Green, 2nd for Strokes Gained: Approach and 15th for Greens in Regulation. These were the highlights of Tapio’s 13th place finish last week in Spain. Not bad reading at all for a 150/1 shot. He is very inconsistent of late but when he’s in the mood, he really gives it his all and makes the most of his week.

I have had success and returns from backing Tapio at courses like Dom Pedro Victoria in Portugal for the Portuguese Masters, a course that aligns quite nicely with Doha golf Club.

Wil Besseling - each-way 8 places

Wil Besseling 175/1
Recent Form – 26-35-WD-41
Course Form – 21

And finally, my good friend Wil Besseling and one I have interviewed on my old podcast Chasing Pars. Wil has shown a real upward curve in his performances over the last month and seems to be hitting the ball as well as ever. Some really solid stats last week, being top-40 in pretty much every Strokes gained statistic.

The last two weeks, he has been getting off to a flyer in tournaments, finishing in the top-5 after the first rounds at both the Andalucia Masters and the Spanish Open the week before in Madrid. At 175/1, I don’t really expect anything from him this week but there is a lot to like about his profile and how it will suit this course.