Preview
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Tips
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Event Info
Starts: 2nd February 2023
Course: Al Hamra GC
Par: 72 (36-36)
Length: 7,400 yards
2022 Champions: Nicolai Hojgaard / Ryan Fox
Course Info
Course Designer: Peter Harradine
Fairways: Wider than average
Rough: Average/Minimal
Greens: Paspalum
Water Hazards: Featured throughout
Par 5's: 3rd, 8th, 14th, 18th
Hosted Since: 2022
Premium on: Driving Distance
Weather Forecast
Summary
Thursday: Sunny, wind picking up to 10mph in the afternoon.
Friday: Sunny, wind picking up to 10mph in the afternoon.
Saturday: Sunny, wind picking up to 10mph in the afternoon.
Sunday: Sunny, wind picking up to 10mph in the afternoon.
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
- This course hosted two events in consecutive weeks last year on teh DP World Tour, the Ras al Khaimah Championship and the Ras al Khaimah Classic.
- The course also hosted a Challenge Tour event between 2016-2018, in addition to back to back DP World Tour events in 2022.
- There was a significant draw bias over the opening two rounds last year. Only two of the top 14 at halfway played PM-AM.
Trends
Winning score
Last year the winning scores were -22 and -24. Between 2016 and 2018, the winning scores were -17, -15 and -20. We'd expect to see scoring at least -20 this week given conditions and course setup.
Recent form
Last year's Ras al Khaimah Championship winner, Nicolai Hojgaard, came into the event on the back of two missed cuts. Ras al Khaimah Classic winner, Ryan Fox, also missed the cut on the same course before his win. Two of the three winners of the Challenge Tour events played here were in good form prior to their win. Only Jordan Smith came in when out of form (missed his two previous cuts).
Course form
As mentioned above, Fox missed the cut week before his win at Al Hamra. Runner up, Ross Fisher, was 18th, as was T3rd Hurly Long. T3rd Zander Lombard was only 58th here before his win.
Winning Nationality
The three Challenge Tour events hosted here have generated three different nationalities. A Spaniard, a Swede and an Englishman have won here. Hojgaard is Danish and Fox is a Kiwi. No bias then!
Stats Analysis
SG: Off The Tee
The first two home last year at the Ras al Khaimah Championship ranked 1st and 2nd for SG: Off The Tee. The winner of the Ras al Khaimah Classic, Ryan Fox, ranked 33rd.
SG: Approach
Only two of the top 6 last year at the Ras al Khaimah Championship ranked inside the top 10 for SG: Approach. However, Fox ranked 3rd the following week.
SG: Around The Green
None of the top 6 were in the top 10 in this category, nor was Fox the following week.
SG: Putting
Only two of last years top 6 at the Ras al Khaimah Championship were in the top 15 for SG: Putting. Ryan Fox was 9th.
In Play Golf Betting Advice
Tough Holes
The 9th and 10th play as the toughest holes on the scorecard.
Birdie Holes
The first five holes will see plenty of birdies and we should expect players starting on the first tee to get off to a hot start.
Fast or Slow Start
Ryan Fox had a two shot lead and led all the way. Nicolai Hojgaard was two shots back after the opening round last week. Adri Arnaus won the Challenge Tour event in 2018 when shooting a 66 in round 1 to jointly lead.
In contrast, Jens Dantorp was 7 shots back in 2017 when he opened with a 71. Finally, Jordan Smith won in 2016 when firing an opening 69 to lie four back after the opening round.
Closing stretch
The last hole is a 576 yard par 5. It is a real risk or reward par 5 as water runs all the way down the right hand side. A great finishing hole!
Ras Al Khaimah Championship Player Quotes
“It’s a great place with amazing weather and the golf course is stunning." Sebastian Soderberg, 2018
“This is my first time in Ras Al Khaimah and I’m really impressed with the place. Al Hamra Golf Club is really nice; it’s a good course with a great design and has been kept in really good shape. You need to hit it long and straight as it’s a long course but it’s really special.” Antoine Rozner, 2018
“Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how important my Ras Al Khaimah win was in getting me to where I am today.” Jordan Smith, 2017
"I’m feeling good. The weather is perfect, the course is perfect, I love the course – it sets up perfectly for me I think. It’s very fair and if you play well off the tee you make it a lot easier. The greens are quite small, if you miss them it can be difficult to get up and down because there’s lots of grain outside the green, but if you play well you can score low." Francesco Laporta, 2017
"The course is quite young I think but the design is very fun to play because you can make a lot of birdies but there’s strategy involved and you have to be patient too. You have to be aggressive round here too, which is my natural game too – it suits me perfectly because I don’t have to change my style, I like that. It’s a really fun place to play, and I played really well, I liked the course, so that’s two really good rounds to start this event and we will now have to see how the weekend goes.” Romain Langasque, 2016
"The course is good and quite long, which is nice for me – I’m not short off the tee so I think that’s quite an advantage this week." Joel Stalter, 2016
"Everyone I have spoken to has said that the course this week is really nice. They have told me it is really wide and long, which doesn’t suit me too much." Steven Brown, 2016
"It feels very similar to that win in Egypt – Ras Al Khaimah and this course remind me a lot of that week, which is probably a good thing. I sweat just as much as anybody else but the heat seems to suit me." Jordan Smith, 2016
Previous Ras Al Khaimah Championship tips
You can access our historical Ras Al Khaimah Championship tips using the links below:
2022
2022
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Tips
You can sign up for all our Ras Al Khaimah Championship tips and DP World Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.
In-play
2023 Ras al Khaimah Championship In-Play Blog
4th February 2023, 6:25pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Lombard |
-16 |
| Hojgaard R |
-15 |
| Gavins |
-14 |
| Pavon |
-13 |
| Two Players Tied |
-12 |
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Round 3 Summary
Round three went very well for us as 175/1 pre-event tip Zander Lombard took the lead and 110/1 Daniel Gavins and 100/1 Matthieu Pavon sit inside the top four. Rasmus Hojgaard is the big danger one off the lead whilst halfway leaders Adrian Meronk and David Law slipped out of the top five.
Notable Round 3 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Quotes
"I've knocked on a lot of doors so it would be good to get over the line (for a win), but we’ll see what happens tomorrow." Zander Lombard
"Today I played a lot better. I was better from the tee box and hit some good approach shots. Overall it's a pretty good day." Rasmus Hojgaard
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Round 4 Weather
Sunny with light winds in the morning, rising to 12mph in the afternoon.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Despite falling one back, Rasmus Hojgaard remains favourite at 7/4. The young superstar drove the ball much better today and he is rightly favourite ahead of Lombard who is still chasing his first win on tour. Hojgaard has failed to convert a number of chances since his last win at the European Masters in August 2021 though. He led the Nedbank last November and shot 76 to fall back to 7th. He also led the French Open in September, where he did much better shooting 68 only to lose to an inspired Migliozzi. Overall, his recent record in contention is poor though so it's not a formality he overtakes Lombard.
Lombard hasn't led after 54 holes since the 2019 Nedbank and he shot 77 to finish 8th that day. It was a similar story the previous time he led in 2016 in Austria, shooting 74 to finish 5th. So the question is, has he learnt from this? Contention rust is bound to be a factor and we should expect a bumpy ride, but all departments looked in great shape today and our fingers our crosses he pulls through for our subscribers at 175/1.
We're also in the unique position of having the 3rd, 4th and 5th market favourites in Daniel Gavins, Matthieu Pavon and Nicolai Hojgaard. Out of the three Nicolai Hojgaard is preferred at 12/1 and we expect him to make a real charge at the leaders tomorrow.
Where is the value?
We saw today how easily the leaderboard can change so we must expect a low round from one of the chasers. We are in an excellent position though so hesitant to play any more bets.
Round 4 Bet
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3rd February 2023, 5:55pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Law |
-11 |
| Meronk |
-11 |
| Hojgaard R |
-11 |
| Four Players Tied |
-11 |
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Round 2 Summary
Adrian Meronk claimed the lead in the morning which was matched by Rasmus Hojgaard and our 125/1 pre-event pick David Law.
Notable Round 2 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Quotes
"The last six holes I putted really well, which made a big difference." David Law
"It was quite calm in the morning so you could aim at the pins and go quite aggressive, which I did." Adrian Meronk
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Round 3 Weather
Sunny with light winds in the morning, rising to 12mph in the afternoon.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
There is not much to separate Adrian Meronk and Rasmus Hojgaard at the top of the market with both players around 10/3.
It is a concern how wild Rasmus has been driving it off the tee, he ranked 113th and 88th for driving accuracy for the first two days and was very fortunate with a few drives today. The putter has been bailing him out but improvement off the tee will be required to win this.
Meronk was extremely impressive this morning and ranked 4th for GIR today, he could have easily been a couple of shots ahead had some putts dropped. He is preferred but neither make much appeal at the odds.
Our man David Law is right where we want him and looks the value of the three leaders at 9/1. If you don't have the 125/1 ticket like our subscribers do, we wouldn't put you off a bet at 9/1, Law ranked 1st GIR today and is also driving the ball well.
Where is the value?
Over the past two events at Ras, the cream has risen to the top with Nicolai Hojgaard and Ryan Fox pulling away. It would be prudent to look for someone with similar quality to do the same this year. One man stands out to us.
Round 3 Bet
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2nd February 2023, 5:25pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Hisatsune |
-8 |
| Baldwin |
-6 |
| Hojgaard R |
-4 |
| Molinari E |
-4 |
| Six Players Tied |
-4 |
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Round 1 Summary
Rasmus Hojgaard set the early pace but 20 year old Ryo Hisatsune stole the show, threatening a 59 at one point. He settled for an 8 under 64 in the end after bogeying the par 5 18th hole and takes a two shot lead into tomorrow.
Notable Round 1 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Quotes
"After that start) I thought 'keep going'. On the back nine there are some tough holes. I had to keep making shots, making pars. On the last hole I was so nervous, but it was just a bogey so OK for me" Ryo Hisatsune
"I feel like I’ve been playing well the last couple of weeks, especially last week I hit the ball well but just couldn’t read the greens. This week so far it seems better." Eduardo Molinari
2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship Round 2 Weather
Sunny with light winds in the morning, rising to 10mph in the afternoon.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Rasmus Hojgaard and Ryan Fox quite rightly head the market at 11/2 and 8/1. It may be worth letting round two play out before considering them though, the morning starters should have the best of the conditions and they may start their round at least 5 shots back.
Callum Shinkwin and Adrian Meronk are next at 12/1 and Shinkwin in particular is very tempting as he was high on our thoughts this week before his price came in very quick. Both have early tee times and can be expected to make their move.
Leader Ryo Hisatsune is also 12/1 but that feels short given his lack of experience and comments about nerves on the 18th tee already. We are happy to take him on this week but it would be no surprise to see him consolidate his position tomorrow.
Where is the value?
The early starters are preferred.
Round 2 Bets
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