World's Best Head to Dubai

This week, for the first time since 1994, the top three ranked players in the world of golf will line up together in a European Tour event, excluding the majors and the World Golf Championships. Let’s not get too bogged down in the fact that most of the current ‘European’ tour events are actually being contested in Asia. If it gets Tiger Woods playing against the new top two then there is no shortage of prestige and interest.

When Woods tees off in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday he will be in the highly unusual predicament of being merely the world’s number three golfer with both Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer having recently usurped him.

Woods has not won since his much publicised scandal broke in November 2009 and starts to find himself, most unusually, beginning events as a non-favourite. Those who have full confidence in his powers of recovery and see his return to the top of the tree as inevitable may fancy backing their fallen idol to win here at 13/2 with Coral. He won in Dubai in 2006 and on his latest visit in 2008, defeating Kaymer by one shot. However, this is only his second event of 2011 and he finished in a modest 44th spot at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago.

Compare that to Kaymer who heads to Dubai as the bookies’ pick with a best price of 5/1 with totesport. He overtook the American courtesy of his triumph at the Abu Dhabi Championships three weeks ago and now has current top dog Westwood in his sights. The Englishman had a stumble in his last outing, only last week, missing the cut at the Qatar Masters. The world number one is consequently an eye-catching 13/1 to win this week with sportingbet.