Golf Central

This is the stuff. The Dubai Desert Classic drags the world’s best golfer half-way across the world and an orderly queue for second place forms at a discrete distance. Or that’s what the bookies would have you believe. Tiger is at evens, so forget about it, until he’s three shots clear on the last morning and you’ve got a spare ten grand burning a hole in your back pocket.

Then again, he didn’t win last year, Henrik Stenson did. One of the many backyard boys from the European Tour who live in Dubai, Stenson is available at around 10/1, with Ernie Els and Lee Westwood at 14/1.

My picks are a little further out, though:-

Sergio Garcia @ 28/1: I never back him and I hardly ever regret it. Wouldn’t it just be rich if the twitchy Spaniard really got his groove back this week?

Nick Dougherty @ 35/1: I almost always back him and he often comes in. Nick showed good form in Qatar, is desperate for a Ryder Cup spot and that’s good enough for me.

Graeme McDowell @ 100-1: Another InGolfWeTrust fave, he showed an almost uncharacteristic level of consistency last week. And if he needs to go low, low he can go…