From the very first event of the year, it's been a season of change on the DP World Tour – and I don't just mean the name, one which underlines how bad an idea it is to sell naming rights to a company which may or may not find itself embroiled in a scandal at some stage down the line. I mean, who among us could've seen this coming?
Anyway, change: Yas Links, Al Hamra, Muthaiga, Pecanwood and Steyn City have all made their debuts on the circuit, with only the Emirates Course in Dubai representing genuine familiarity. It is then comforting to return to Doha GC for the Qatar Masters, a course which hosted the event from 1998 to 2019, before fairway-finders were given the respite of a different test over at Education City. Or else it should be.
The trouble is, even Doha now poses a few questions, despite all that we know about it. Since 2019, several greens have been reshaped and all of them covered in a new type of grass, paspalum, which we saw at Yas Links and Al Hamra as well as on the Asian Tour in the Saudi International. Combine that with a forecast suggesting serious wind at the weekend, and any comfort derived from familiarity quickly dissipates.
Olesen couldn't get a game in events co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour but I'm not sure they'd have been all that suitable anyway, and perhaps fresh is the time to catch him as he returns to a course he's familiar with.
Second (2016) and third (2014) here in the past as well as right in the mix when 22nd in 2013, Olesen has shown a liking for Doha and there are plenty in here who've either never played it, or at least concede a big experience edge to those like the Dane who used to come here every year.
It's a course he says he likes a lot and his record throughout the Middle East is excellent, with second place in Abu Dhabi, third in the Dubai Desert Classic and eighth place just last November in the Dubai Championship. Ninth and 12th in the Open, he has that box ticked, too, and the aforementioned Dunhill Links (first and second) correlates obviously well.
Although never a factor at Verdura, he was 12th last November in Portugal which is another exposed course offering some clues as to who might go well here, and he's done that in the past. Indeed half of his eight starts at Doha have resulted in top-20 finishes, not bad given his struggles over the years, and he was runner-up here having led through 54 holes in 2019.
Back in 2014, Wilson stated that Doha was his favourite among the Middle East courses so he'll be delighted they're returning here and it comes at a good time, as he's been driving the ball really well lately. That's the area of the game he struggled so badly with when falling down to the bottom of the world rankings and if he keeps on hitting it well off the tee, he'll find more chances to add to that sole win at the Old Course.
Last week he was 33rd after a quiet final round but it was a good effort given he'd flown in late having got into the field as an alternate, and a long, soft, easy course isn't really what he wants. Doha will be much more suitable and though it's rare he strings four rounds together, it could happen here if his long-game carries over from one week to the next.
At the top of the market, favouritism is being fought out by players who've been right in the mix lately. Dean Burmester was furious to give away a good lead on Sunday and both Adri Arnaus and Jordan Smith will have been disappointed at the way they exited a play-off won by Pablo Larrazabal before that, so perhaps the easygoing George Coetzee is the best of them.
Like Olesen, he was among my eye-catchers in a feature written after that fortnight at Al Hamra, and he placed for us next time at 40/1. His form here at Doha is outstanding – eight starts, seven cuts made, five top-10s – and we saw when he won in Portugal a year and a half ago that when he's comfortable, he's deadly. Indeed you could argue he's a player who wins when smack-you-in-the-face obvious, which he is here.
But at a good chunk bigger, I'm going back to ROMAIN LANGASQUE.
The Frenchman missed the places by one shot having made just one bogey all week at Pecanwood a fortnight ago, and then did the same thing at Steyn City, playing the final 10 holes in two-over to finish eighth.
Thankfully we weren't on him there so finishes of ninth and eighth can be seen for what they are, welcome and positive steps forward after an eye-catching but ultimately frustrating start to the campaign.
Ninth on his last start in the Middle East, Scrivener was only adding another excellent performance to a long list of them in this part of the world. His best DP World Tour form so far was second place in Abu Dhabi, and he's also been inside the top seven twice in the Dubai Desert Classic, and 10th in the DP World Tour Championship.
Last year he finished well to take 21st at Education City and on his previous start in Qatar, he crept into things here to finish 19th, a rare bright spot in a pretty miserable start to the campaign.
He won here in 2018 having started the year MC-MC-MC-44 and having been fourth previously, it's clear that Doha is an excellent fit. After beating Oli Fisher to this title he went on to bag a top-10 finish at Carnoustie, and alongside that he has three Scottish Open top-10s, seventh in the Dunhill Links, and top-fives at Lahinch and Royal County Down.
In other words he's got links and seaside form in spades and though it's been a poor start to 2022, I wouldn't have expected him to be competitive at Al Hamra, one of the most driver-heavy courses on the circuit now. Since then we've only seen him at Muthaiga, and a second-round 69 resulted in a missed cut by one shot.
Solid approach play stats there offer hope that he can lean on his biggest strength, which is his iron play, and at this course I'm willing to take a chance at three-figure prices.
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