After last week’s Ryder Cup warm-up event the DP World Tour resumes regular action with the Dubai Desert Classic in which Rory McIlroy is eyeing up a hat trick of victories.
The Dubai Desert Classic odds
- Rory McIlroy 15/4
- Jon Rahm 11/2
- Tyrrell Hatton 9/1
- Tommy Fleetwood 11/1
- Viktor Hovland 18/1
- Rasmus Hojgaard 20/1
- Robert MacIntyre 22/1
- Adam Scott 25/1
- Thorbjorn Olesen 30/1
- Dean Burmester 33/1
*Odds with bet365. Odds are subject to change.
The Dubai Desert Classic golf betting preview
This tournament is one of the jewels in the DP World Tour crown and, with a high quality field, we should be set for a thrilling renewal this week.
Rory McIlroy heads the betting and with ghood reason because he’s a four-time winner of the event and a fifth victory would also complete a hat trick of wins after success in 2023 and 2024.
LIV Golf star Jon Rahm makes his event debut and the promoters will be hoping for a weekend head-to-head between Europe’s two finest performers.
They are not the only stars in the field, however.
The Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood have excellent records in Dubai while the Norwegian Viktor Hovland was the winner of this title in 2022 and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has travelled from Hawaii to tee it up.
The course has a superb back nine that includes three par-5s and the driveable par-4 17th. It demands attacking golf and exciting finales are typical with plenty of cut and thrust at the top of the leaderboard.
Who are the best bets? Let’s find out.
The Dubai Desert Classic golf betting tips
Find my predictions and best tips for The Dubai Desert Classic 2025 below.
Rory McIlroy first round leader each way
Even at best price 4/1 the Northern Irishman is a short price to win this week but we can back him in the first round leader market and get the numbers back on our side.
In his early visits to this course McIlroy struggled but his last 11 visits have all reaped top 10 finishes and he’s especially thrived in the first round with three solo leads, one shared and on another five occasions he made the top six.
As usual he has an early tee time so can take full advantage of the best conditions and set an early clubhouse target to get his week off to a good start.
888Sport are offering 12/1 each way paying six places
Patrick Reed each way
Two years ago the biggest threat to McIlroy’s triumph was the American Patrick Reed who went toe-to-toe with him in the final round before finishing second.
This week marks his first return to the course since then and he’s in excellent form.
He carded a sensational third round 59 when winning the Hong Kong Open in the last week of November and then added a pair of top 20s in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Those latter results were further proof that he likes the Middle East. In fact, in addition to finishing second at Emirates, he’s also got a second and a third at Jumeirah in the DP World Tour Championship.
He’s available at a juicy top price 45/1 each way with bet365 and take note that some books rate him a 22/1 shot.
Back Austin Eckroat each way with bet365
Nicolai Hojgaard each way
The Dane had to withdraw from the Team Cup last week with illness but by the end of the week he felt well enough to get out on the course cheering on his team-mates.
Now he gets the chance to revive his chances of making a second Ryder Cup appearance and he’s well-suited to the task because quality drivers thrive here and he fits that bill.
He proved it when finishing seventh last year and he has also won on desert layouts at Jumeirah and Al Hamra (both also in the UAE).
Take the 40/1 each way with Spreadex that pays out six places
How to watch The Dubai Desert Classic
- Venue – The Majlis Course, Emirates GC, Dubai
- Date – Thursday 18th January – Sunday 21st January
- Broadcast – Full coverage on Sky Sports Golf: Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 4am.
About the author
Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper has been a golf journalist for 15 years. He’s worked for, among others, Golf365, SkySports, ESPN, NBC, Sporting Life, Open.com and the Guardian. He specialises in feature writing, reporting and tournament analysis. He’s covered numerous Opens, Ryder Cups and Solheim Cups, and travelled to golfing destinations as varied as Kazakhstan, South Korea, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
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