Golf: European Tour – Oman Open
Venue: Al Mouj Golf Course, Muscat.
Dates: Thursday 27th February – Sunday 1st March 2020
Tournament Preview
The European Tour continues in the gulf as some of Europe’s best converge on Muscat for the 3rd edition of the Oman Open. The event which was previously part of the Challenge Tour, was upgraded in 2018 and with previous winners Joost Luiten and Kurt Kitayama enjoying stellar runs off the back of their wins in Oman, there will be plenty of big names hoping to do the same this week. As one of six early-season events to be played on the Arabian Peninsula, there is a healthy prize pot of nearly $2 million with almost $300,000 distributed to the winner.
Betting Preview
Outright Winner
There are plenty of big names descending on Oman this week in what promises to be a hotly contested four days of golf:
Belgian Thomas Pieters arrives in Oman in excellent form following his 3rd place finish at the Saudi Invitational earlier this month and he is the justified favourite here in Muscat.
With 4 top 20 finishes from his last 4 starts, German Martin Kaymer looks to be returning to form on the European Tour. He surged up the leader board at the Saudi Invitational on the final day and he looks in good nick currently.
Dutchman Joost Luiten is the course record holder here in Muscat and he will be eager to find form in the gulf once more. He finished 2019 in decent form and he’ll be keen to kick on in 2020.
Young Malaysian Gavin Green put in a superb performance at the Saudi Invitational last time out to finish joint 3rd and with no missed cuts since October, he is demonstrating consistency on the European Tour.
South African George Coetzee has struggled since his top 10 finish in his home tournament at the start of the year but he could relish the conditions here in Oman.
1st Round Leader
Producing the goods over 72 holes is often the most difficult thing for any golfer to do therefore here are our first round leader picks:-
Belgian Thomas Detry stayed in contention for all 4 days at the Saudi Invitational, finishing 6th and he will be desperate to kick on from that excellent showing here in Muscat.
Englishman Jordan Smith was one of the most consistent performers on the European Tour in 2019 and he will be looking to get off to yet another flying start here in Oman.
Former Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan has lacked form in recent months but his strong end to the season should hold him in good stead here in Oman.
Top Ten Finish
With so many quality players assembled here in Oman, getting into the winning enclosure could be tough but there are plenty of candidates to finish in the top 10 come Sunday:
Emerging Spaniard Adri Arnaus enjoyed a superb week at the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month and he will be keen to showcase his talents in similar surroundings here.
Chinese superstar Haotong Li has not been at his best so far in 2020 but he possesses plenty of talent and should relish the course here in Oman.
Englishman Sam Horsfield enjoyed his breakthrough year on the European Tour in 2019 and following his top 10 finish at the Victorian Open last time out, he looks to be in good nick.
BetXChange Best Bets:
Outright Winner: Martin Kaymer – 18.00
