Ras al Khaimah Championship: Harrington among value outsiders in UAE

The DP World Tour moves 90 minutes north from Dubai to Al Hamra Golf Club for the $2million Ras al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital.

With 22 of the world's top 50 in Jeddah for the Saudi International, world number 53 Richard Bland is the leading player in the field for the fourth leg of the desert swing at the 7,325-yard, par-72 Peter Harradine design which will also host next week's Ras al Khaimah Classic.

Bland hoping to go one better

It's a new venue for the DP World Tour but not for 22 players in the field who played it when it hosted the first of three Challenge Tour events, the Ras al Khaimah Golf Challenge in 2016. Bland, who finally broke through for his maiden win at the British Masters in his 478th start at the age of 48 last year, is fifth favourite at 38 to go one better than last weekend's playoff loss to Viktor Hovland in the Dubai Desert Classic.

But course experience may well count for a lot at a desert venue that winds its way through four interconnected open water lagoons.

Englishman Jordan Smith won the inaugural Challenge Tour event at Al Hamra in 2016 and after finishing tied ninth in Dubai last week, he's second favourite at 27 this week and a better bet than Ryder Cup star Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, the favourite at 15.

Smith is also one of 22 players from the 2016 field returning this week and one of 13 who have since gone on to win on the DP World Tour.

The others include Marcus Armitage (75), Ryan Fox (48), Guido Migliozzi (120) and Thriston Lawrence (300), the first winner of the DP World Tour era in November at the Joburg Open.

Title favourite Wiesberger closed with a disappointing 76 in Dubai on Sunday to fall from tied fifth overnight to joint 24th, eight shots behind Hovland.

Meronk offers good value

Better value is on offer from third favourite Adrian Meronk of Poland (27), who has had two top 10 finishes in the desert in his last four starts, finishing tied eighth in the Dubai Championship in November and tied fourth at the Emirates Golf Club on Sunday.

Another player worthy of attention is Frenchman Romain Langasque (29). On Sunday, he topped the strokes gained off the tee statistics in Dubai to clinch a top 20 finish and was sixth behind Smith at Al Hamra in 2016.

Langasque is due to add to his 2020 ISPS Wales Open win and having finished sixth at the venue in 2016 and finished fourth the following year, he boasts a scoring average of 68.50 on a course where there is a premium on driving.

Langasque was first for strokes gained off the tee in Sunday's final round, outgunning new world number three Hovland.

Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington is a good value outsider for the Ras-al-Khaimah Championship

Few players have been better in the long game department in recent years than 50-year old Pádraig Harrington, who was ninth in Dubai last week and represents good value this week at 75.

Another long shot worthy of attention is Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg, who offers even better value at 90, despite his missed cut at the Emirates Golf Club.

Broberg was one of the better drivers of the ball in Dubai and that will be key at a course featuring four par-fives and two short par-fours measuring just over 350 yards.

Recommended bets

Jordan Smith @ 15

Romain Langasque @ 28

Pádraig Harrington @ 75