Following the excitement of the season's inaugural Rolex Series Dubai Desert Classic, action returns to the coast as the Ras Al Khaimah Championship continues the DP World Tour's international swing.
The event is relatively new on the European Tour calendar, with the inaugural event only taking place in 2022, but scoring has been low so fans enjoy watching players make birdies and eagles on a regular basis.
While the field isn't as strong as last week's, the Ras Al Khaimah Championship still features two of the three former champions, several former Ryder Cup players and a handful of major champions, among many well-known names.
Patrick Reed, Padraig Harrington and Jimmy Walker have all claimed one of the sport's four biggest awards and will be gunning for their latest triumphs this week.
Below, the Golf Monthly news team has selected a few of the players we think will be in contention for Sunday's Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
Thorbjorn Olesen wins 2024 Ras Al Khaimah Championship trophy
(Image source: Getty Images)
Ras Al Khaimah Championship Course: Al Hamra GC
Al Hamra Golf Club's 18-hole championship course, which opened in 2007 and was designed by Peter Harradine, will be played this week as a 7,378-yard par-72 course.
It runs in the opposite direction from the clubhouse on the front nine holes before returning home, where it winds around four interconnected open water lagoons, eventually merging with the Arabian Gulf.
The course was originally planned to be built on a salt flat near the water's edge, but was instead laid out on 5 million cubic meters of sand. Altitude changes at Al Hamra Golf Club range from 1 meter to 8 meters above sea level, with the help of some expert shaping.
The course's DP World Tour scoring record was set by Thorbjorn Olesen on his way to the 2024 title. The Dane finished at 27 under, having struck just 261 shots over all four rounds.
View of the ninth hole at Al Hamra Golf Club
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
Previous Ras Al Khaimah Championship Champions
Year | champion | winning score |
---|---|---|
2024 | Thorbjorn Olsen | -27 (six-stroke) |
2023 | Daniel Gavins | -17 (one stroke) |
2022 | Nicola Hoggard | -24 (four-stroke) |
Ras Al Khaimah Championship Betting Odds
The odds of outright victory are via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Thorbjorn Olsen (+1000)
- Patrick Reed (+1800)
- Ryan Fox (+2200)
- Keita Nakajima(+2200)
- Jordan Smith (+2500)
- Tom McKibbin (+2500)
- Johannes Wellmann (+2500)
- David Puig (+2800)
- Matthew Jordan (+3000)
- Rasmus Nergaard Peterson (+3500)
- Sean Norris (+3500)
- Julian Guerrier (+3500)
- Daniel Hillier (+4000)
- Brandon Stone (+4000)
- Guido Migliozzi (+4000)
- Alex Fitzpatrick (+4000)
- Roman Langeske (+4500)
- Thomas Peters(+4500)
- Sebastian Soderbergh (+4500)
- Angel Ayora (+4500)
- Evan Ferguson (+4500)
- Jorge Campillo (+5000)
- Frédéric Lacroix (+5000)
- Paul Welling (+5500)
- All remaining players have odds of +6000 or better
Ras Al Khaimah Championship Betting Picks
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Tom McKibbin (+2500)
I'm delighted to support Tom McKibbin for the second week running after a fantastic sixth place finish at the Dubai Desert Classic. The Northern Irishman is reportedly set to join Jon Rahm's LIV golf team and will be desperate to continue gaining world rankings and Ryder Cup points if he does play on the 54-hole tour.
McKibbin posted four under-par rounds last week and returns to Al Hamra Golf Club, where he finished 16th at 14-under last year. He needs to get down low this week, so let's hope he gets off to a quick start and builds from there.
Outsider: Sean Norris (+3500)
The South African also finished tied for sixth at the Dubai Desert Classic and continued his incredible run into 2024 with back-to-back wins on the Japan Golf Tour and Dubai World Tour.
Norris competed here in 2023, finishing T42, and in 2022, he finished T9 after four rounds in the 60s. Hopefully he can keep up this form and compete again.
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Ryan Fox (+2200)
The New Zealander finished in the top 10 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, his first outing since October 2024. After the third round, Fox explained that “his preparation is going well,” so that can only be a good sign heading into the season.
What's more, Fox last competed in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in 2023, when he tied for 11th, and won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in 2022. He has a great record at the Emirates and the 37-year-old is back after a long break and I think he is capable of playing on Sunday.
Outsider: Angel Hidalgo (+12,000)
Hidalgo has struggled a bit since his victory at the Spanish Open, but he has improved over the past two events and is showing signs of improvement, notably a tie for 31st at the Nedbank Golf Challenge .
Last year, Hidalgo finished in the top ten in this event despite a poor final round performance, and the Spaniard also finished tied for 28th at the 2022 Al Jamra GC, a sign of his form on the course good. He'll want to get back on track and in a layout he likes, probably this week.
Jonny Layfield
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Patrick Reed (+1800)
Reed has been a semi-regular player over the past few months in preparation for the upcoming LIV Golf League, so despite having never played the event before, he has been performing well, and Others may have rested for longer periods of time.
The American, who had won four previous starts and hasn't finished in the top 20 since, has some shocking putting numbers that suggest he'd be in good stead if this historically low-scoring event turns into a putting contest. Might be one of the defeated. If he can avoid the disaster at kick-off, I feel like the Ras Al Khaimah tournament is Reid's loss.
Outsider: Evan Ferguson (+4500)
The Scot played some very good golf in Dubai last week and then at the end of the third round his thought process has been a bit muddled since then. On the surface, a 16th place finish may seem average, but most of the first three days were on full display of Ferguson's ability.
His performance in Ras Al Khaimah in 2023 is a big improvement from his top 25 finish in 2024, so I expect him to combine last week's overall performance with his growing knowledge of Al Khaimah and some strong performances of late Combined to create a good performance finish.
How to watch the Ras Al Khaimah Championship
United States (East)
- Thursday, January 23 – Round 1: 3:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Friday, January 24 – Round 2: 3:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Saturday, January 25 – Round 3: 3:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Sunday, January 26 – Round 4: 3:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
United Kingdom (GMT)
- Thursday, January 23 – Round 1: 8:30am – 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Friday, January 24 – Round 2: 8:30am – 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Saturday, January 25 – Round 3: 8:30am – 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Sunday, January 26 – Round 4: 8:00am – 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)