DeepDiveGolf - David Bieleski 
Before getting into our betting tips for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, I do recommend having a read of my tournament preview article here. You can catch-up on all my deep-dive analysis of Al Hamra Golf Club this week, correlated course form, and weather for the tournament. Hopefully, this helps provide a glimpse into some of my process behind the Ras Al Khaimah Championship golf betting tips below.
Another extremely close week for us. Adrian Meronk finished 2nd by one shot at 25/1 and also just missed out on first-round leader at 33/1. Frustratingly, he missed two 3ft5in putts in the first round costing us both bets. Joaquin Niemann played well as predicted, finishing 4th also at 25/1. Both returned full place payouts at +625. We also cashed a top 40 on Jayden Schaper at +180. It was a profit of +9.65 units for the week.
Of those unlucky to miss out on the card this week, Zander Lombard, Richard Mansell, and Daniel Hillier headed the list. Lombard has been in excellent form of late, plus has a great record with 2nd and 3rd in his last two tournaments at Al Hamra. This grade of DP World Tour tournament seems the level he will secure his first win. However, losing two tournaments straight on approach and 22/1 was a tad short.
Mansell has plenty of distance and a great record on driver heavy golf courses. He had a great first round in Dubai, cashing a 80/1 first-round leader for us although split through dead-heat. He did fade heavily over the rest of the tournament, which was enough to see him excluded. Daniel Hillier deserves respect on a good setup for him. A couple missed cuts in Dubai meant others were narrowly preferred.
Ras Al Khaimah Championship Betting Tips
Suggested Staking
Updated with best place odds at 22:00 ET 23 January
Hennie du Plessis
2.5pt E/W +3500 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
Tom McKibbin – Ras Al Khaimah Championship Favourite
2.5pt E/W +4000 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
Louis de Jager
1pt E/W +6000 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
And
2pt Top 20 +280 (Bet365)
Jayden Schaper
1pt E/W +7000 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
And
2pt Top 20 +300 (Bet365)
Johannes Veerman – Ras Al Khaimah Championship Best Value Bet
0.5pt E/W +10000 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
And
1pt Top 20 +425 (Bet365)
And
2pt Top 40 +145 (Bet365)
Callum Shinkwin
0.5pt E/W +10000 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
And
1pt Top 20 +425 (Bet365)
And
2pt Top 40 +145 (Bet365)
Jeong Weon Ko
0.5pt E/W +22500 (Bet365 with 8 places 1/5 odds)
And
1pt Top 20 +750 (Bet365)
And
2pt Top 40 +300 (TAB)
Player Profiles
Hennie du Plessis
First, we start with a South African in young Hennie du Plessis. As mentioned in my tournament preview, par 5 scoring has a big influence on performance at Al Hamra Golf Club. Multiple best performers at this tournament have sat in the top 10 for par 5 scoring in either 2023 or 2022. Hennie du Plessis was the best for par 5 scoring in 2023 and 4th in 2022.
Much of that comes with his prowess off the tee. Du Plessis is the 13th longest driver in this field and 8th for SG: OTT. He is also 24th in SG: APP and 12th SG: T2G in this field over the last 6 months. That combination of ball-striking is ideal for this course.
His lack of ATG should be tempered on this course, where the large greens see a reduced number of misses. The rough is mild and bunkers relatively simple, meaning this should be less of a factor this week. It was that which held him back last week in Dubai. He was 20th SG: OTT, 36th SG: APP, and 22nd in SG: PUTT. That was one of the best fields on the DP World Tour and this is much easier. Although this is his first trip to the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, it looks a fabulous course fit and he is too long in betting markets at 35/1.
Tom McKibbin – Ras Al Khaimah Championship Favourite
A lad from Holywood Golf Club won the Dubai Desert Classic last week. Obviously, that was Rory McIlroy. I am hoping that recent victory provides some inspiration for another Holywood golfer: the talented 21 year old Tom McKibbin.
I’m not sure what they put in the water in the small village of Holywood, as it has somehow produced another huge hitting prodigy. The Northern Irishman is 6th in this field in SG: OTT over the last 6 months. It was an excellent Dubai swing for McKibbin in his own right. He was 14th at the Dubai Desert Classic, his best finish in a Rolex Series tournament thus far, and 25th at the Dubai Invitational.
That came off the back of some truly excellent ball-striking. He was 3rd for SG: OTT, behind only McIlroy and runner-up Meronk. He was also 19th for SG: APP to suggest his swing is in great shape. McKibbin really struggled on the ultra fast icy greens of Emirates Golf Club. Certainly, these are a lot slower and easier.
McKibbin was 14th for par 5 scoring in his debut DP World Tour season. He managed a 36th here last year, in a promising start for a young golfer finding their feet on tour. He would quickly notch his first DP World Tour victory at the Porsche European Open. That is at the brutal Green Eagle Golf Course, the longest course on the tour schedule. McKibbin has a big future ahead of him, and another DP World Tour victory here would be unsurprising.
Louis de Jager
Heading to some longer odds, we add another South African to the Ras Al Khaimah Championship betting card. De Jager is another big hitter of the golf ball whose best performances have come on driver favoured golf courses. Notably, he has never missed a cut at any of our comp courses. 14th at the Portugal Masters in his debut season, 6th at the Open De Espana, and 4th in October at the new Andalucia Masters host course correlate nicely. Obviously, they were all driver heavy courses but also tick the Iberian Peninsula form link we see here.
De Jager showed he suited this course nicely with a 28th on his first look. That is always promising for me when a golfer can perform on a track with no prior course knowledge. Additionally, he finished 12th in par 5 scoring in 2023 and 19th in 2022. The performance last week in Dubai is of little concern, with SG: ATG again the main factor. Otherwise, his game looked stout. Particularly, finishing 20th for SG: APP and 29th for SG: PUTT on some tricky surfaces.
Jayden Schaper
The final in our trifecta of South African’s on the card this week, Schaper returns after making our card at the Dubai Desert Classic. All things told, a 38th place finish was an excellent return for the 22 year old.
Schaper was 23rd for SG: OTT last week and 15th for SG: PUTT. Prior to that, he had rattled off 4 consecutive top 10 finishes to end the 2023 season. Those all came in Africa, but this course does really remind me of some of their tracks. Particularly, akin to the Club at Steyn City where he finished 17th. Big hitting German Nick Bachem won there for us in 2023, tipped at 100/1.
Another link can be found in the Barbasol Championship. In his first ever PGA Tour tournament, he finished 16th at a course dominated by longer hitters. Again, a big hitter in Vincent Norrman won the event. Schaper has oodles of talent, and I suspect we will see him regarded in the top 20 DP World Tour players in quick fashion.
Johannes Veerman – Ras Al Khaimah Championship Best Value Bet
Quite clearly my easiest bet of the week. Veerman was the first name I looked for on the betting board, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find him at 100/1.
It was a fantastic Dubai Desert Classic for Veerman. He finished 16th, in what was his first start of the season. That is following on from an 8th in 2023 and 35th in 2022 with his first look at Emirates Golf Club. Last week’s performance came despite struggling on those firm and fast greens. He was 66th in SG: Putt but 28th for SG: OTT, 9th for SG: APP, and 25th for SG: ATG.
Veerman now finds himself at a course he clearly suits. Two starts at Al Hamra have already seen him finish 12th and 19th. Importantly, he has gained strokes putting here in a big way. Again, highlighting his suitability to this type of course is a 8th in his only look at the Portugal Masters.
Completing the picture are his big gains on approach of late. In this field, he ranks 49th for SG: APP when looking over the last two years. Zooming in on the last 6 months, he jumps to 13th in the rankings. With plenty of evidence his ball-striking is entering elevated levels, he finds himself a track where he has putted really well. He is simply the best value on the board, where fair pricing would be more in the 70/1 range.
Callum Shinkwin
We stick at 100/1 for our next Ras Al Khaimah Championship betting tips, with long-hitting Englishman Callum Shinkwin. Behind Veerman, Shinkwin again made a very obvious selection this week.
Unfortunately, Shinkwin had to WD with a wrist injury last year here. That was when sitting at -8 and tied 9th. Prior to that, he had already shown this was a course to his liking with a 21st and 25th in two appearances.
Correlated form is easy to find. A pair of 17th place finishes at the Portugal Masters included on debut there. His 2nd DP World tour victory was at Celtic Manor, a former Ryder Cup host and a driver heavy golf course. His 2020 Cyprus Open links both in terms of low scoring Mediterranean coastal golf courses and long hitters. Names such as Samooja, MacIntyre, and Valimaki are all big drivers and littered the leaderboard behind him.
Shinkwin also shares great form at neighbouring Emirates Golf Club. A 4th placed finish in 2023 was followed by a strong 11th place finish last week. Again, he gained in all the right areas. He was 7th for SG: OTT, 14th for SG: APP, and 20th for SG: PUTT. Sitting 28th for driving distance and 26th for SG: APP in this field over the past 6 months demonstrates the fundamentals of his game match perfectly for Al Hamra.
Following the WD here, Shinkwin sadly had two months out of the game recovering. Expect perhaps some retribution on the golf course this week, at a setup that clearly suits his play.
Jeong Weon Ko
Finally, wrapping up our tips is a speculative play on Jeong Weon Ko. This is a boom or bust type play, but what you would expect from a golfer available between 275/1 to 300/1 depending how many places you are willing to forego.
One of the biggest drivers in this field, Ko ranks 21st for driving distance in this field over the last 6 months. Ko really struggled last week in Dubai as the tournament went on. He was simply not up to the test as the greens got firmer and faster over the weekend. Instead, we can take some solace that he opened with a decent 69 when the course was at it’s easiest and made the cut. Majority of his lost strokes came with the putter, where he ranked 73rd. The fundamentals though looked decent enough for a first start of the year being 32nd for SG: OTT, 56th for SG: APP, and 49th SG: ATG.
Ko was 28th on this golf course in 2023, his only look at Al Hamra. Additionally, he finished 7th at the Andalucia Masters in October. The tournament was littered with other strong drivers of the golf ball, led by winner Meronk but also the likes of Schmid, Mansell, and De Jager all just ahead of him on the leaderboard. He finished ahead of the likes of other big hitters like Pavon, Perez, Bachem, and Olesen. It all suggests this could be the type of test that suits at a big price.
DP World Tour Fantasy Reminder
Having now read our Ras Al Khaimah Championship betting tips, now is a great time to lock in your line-up for the DP World Tour fantasy contest. We have a fun league you can join here using league code ZD74TJ6S or searching for DeepDiveGolf. It is free to play and always good to see who will finish on top from the WinDaily family!
