Oman Open: Betting preview and tips following first two rounds at Al Mouj

Recommended bets

1pt win Joost Luiten at 9/1

0.5pt e.w. Fabrizio Zanotti at 33/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4,5)

0.5pt e.w. Jeunghun Wang at 50/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4)

The cut has been made at level par in Oman, and we have already lost the pre-tournament favourite Thomas Pieters plus a few other names who were prominent in the betting such as Adri Arnaus and Min Woo Lee.

The wind was certainly up on Friday, making the course very tricky, and while it's not forecast to blow a gale there could be enough across both Saturday and Sunday afternoons to make things really interesting.

Rasmus Hojgaard threatened to run away with the lead having reached nine-under through just six holes but he stalled a bit and was caught by Stephen Gallacher, both players eventually posting that number.

One shot behind is Finland's Kalle Samooja who posted a seven-under 65 which remarkably included a triple-bogey. Late in the day Nicolas Colsaerts joined him on that number with a strong finish making birdies on four of his last six holes.

There is then a two-shot gap back to five players on six-under with a similar group on five-under, and I would be surprised if the eventual winner isn’t amongst these 14.

While this is only the third renewal of the Oman Open on the European Tour the course was used five times on the Challenge Tour which we can add into the picture of where the winner is likely to come from over the weekend. Generally speaking up with the pace is the place to be with nobody coming from further than five back.

Hjogaard was impressive when winning in Mauritius in December, on a course similarly exposed to the wind, and 2019 Oman champion Kurt Kitayama had also won there so we have a precedent.

Gallacher is good links exponent and twice a winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, so he's comfortable in this part of the world. It is worth remembering it is only a year since his last victory and that came from out of the blue.

Brandon Stone has been fourth and sixth when this course was used on the Challenge Tour but as a betting proposition for me he just blows too hot and cold. He was third here last year at the cut, only one shot behind, but plunged down the leaderboard with a third-round 80. I don't think it'd shock anyone if he did something similar and he's hard to catch right.

Samooja probably has a title in him at some point but I can’t see him shooting the lights out again on Saturday and Colsaerts simply doesn’t win often enough to be worth backing at a single-figure price.

It’s one of those events where it is hard to rule out anyone in contention – there are a lot of positives about most of those up there, and a lot have shown some sort of form round here at some point in time.

JOOST LUITEN is a six-time tour winner and he is in a very similar position to when he went on to win two years ago. At 9/1, he is worth having onside as the most proven winner among those in contention.

It's also worth chancing FABRIZIO ZANOTTI, who has been seventh and second here and really should have won last year. He loves the course, he knows how to win, and I would be a little surprised if he's not in the mix for the five places on offer at 33/1.

On the same score but at a bigger price is JEUNGHUN WANG, who has been largely forgotten since winning three times in eight months from the spring of 2016.

He really lost his way and while finding some form towards the end of last year, he has missed all three cuts in 2020.

However one of those wins came at the aforementioned Mauritius Open and another in the desert in nearby Qatar, where it tends to be windy. At 50/1 and having been fifth in the Dunhill Links recently enough, he too looks overpriced.

Posted at 1720 GMT on 28/02/20

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