If the beginning of the new era was a mess, take two has been electric: wins for Thomas Pieters in Abu Dhabi and Viktor Hovland in Dubai provided an immediate hit for those invested solely in the now, while offering hope of a bright future for anyone looking beyond. After the Ryder Cup, European golf needed an injection of something and it has it, thanks to two mega talents who ought to be key to any home success in Rome next year.
It's nevertheless welcome that the stars of the circuit and those American guests who like to expand their horizons early in the year are elsewhere, if not for sponsors of the DP World Tour then certainly for those of us trying to solve its puzzles. None of the world's top 50 feature in the Ras al Khaimah Championship, the first of two events at the same course, and that helps make for an appealing betting heat.
At the top of the market is last week's primary source of disappointment, Bernd Wiesberger. The Austrian again putted poorly as he slumped to a midfield finish, but the greatest frustration was that he failed to capitalise on tough weekend conditions which ought to have brought out his best just as they ultimately did in Hovland. He's the class act here but had no excuses and can win unbacked if he must.
The Frenchman was threatening to place for us at big odds on Sunday until a poor second to the par-five 10th cost him two shots and all his momentum. Langasque steadied the ship nicely, though, and in doing so was able to polish off back-to-back top-20 finishes to begin the campaign.
Those came in Rolex Series events with enormous purses and members of the world's top 10 in attendance, so this is a significant drop in grade, and it looks an ideal time to get a real handle on where his game is. The answer, I suspect, is right where he needs it to win this sort of tournament.
Meronk is a former runner-up here and looks to have every chance, but Smith's Middle East run of 24-12-9 has seen him show the necessary improvements with putter in hand to believe that he can at last double his tally – both at this level and at this course.
Fox would've been on the radar for the adjacent Saudi International, where he led at halfway last year, but this is a much more realistic opportunity and he too has previous, having been fifth at halfway and finished 16th because of one poor round here in 2016.
The New Zealander was also sixth at Al Mouj that year, a course where he had caught the eye on debut in 2015, while his long-game so far this season has been sharper than we might've expected following a prolonged break.
Now returning to a course where he's been in the mix, one which is more exposed and therefore quite possibly more to his liking, he looks a 50/1 shot with plenty of upside.
JOHANNES VEERMAN is another who caught the eye last week, finishing 35th on his Dubai Desert Classic debut and striking the ball really well.
Veerman was 21st in strokes-gained approach and third in greens hit, both encouraging, and there's no cause for alarm where the putter is concerned. It let him down on greens slicker than we'll get at Al Hamra, but is typically a strength and any malaise is likely to be short-lived.
His victory last year was coming and the fact it was at Albatros, a big, long course where strong drivers thrive, is not insignificant. Veerman is by no means a bomber but he's longer than average and it's that club where he's found the improvement which laid the foundations for his career-best run through summer.
He's a prolific birdie-maker whose Middle East form shows promise despite limited opportunities, and includes 14th in Qatar plus 21st in the high-class DP World Tour Championship. After a breakout 2021, expect Veerman to continue to improve and if the arrival of his first child proves a help rather than a hindrance, he could go close at least once over the next fortnight.
Stone was runner-up in last year's Dubai Desert Classic, but it's his Al Mouj form which really catches the eye. In five starts there he's twice been runner-up, unluckily on the latter occasion, and he was also sixth in 2017. In 2019, a year before his play-off defeat to Sami Valimaki, he was third at halfway before a difficult third round in bad weather.
Third in strokes-gained off-the-tee last season and ninth in 2020, Stone is unquestionably one of the best drivers on the circuit, and he showed that club to be firing when ranking fourth last week. The other departments of his game all showed improvement from Abu Dhabi and it's been a quietly solid start to the year.
Broberg won there because his waywardness went unpunished and he produced an astonishing week on the greens. Since then, however, he's gained strokes off the tee in every single start, and his iron play has at times been of an extremely high standard, ranking first in the Dunhill Links, fifth in Portugal and seventh in Dubai.
In other words, the substance to his renaissance comes not from the win, but from what he's done since. Many, myself included, would've anticipated a return to obscurity after the cards fell into place. Instead, he's used victory and the freedom it brings to cement his status.
Broberg returned after Christmas with his long-game still firing but the putter cold. Last week, he gained 3.85 strokes with his ball-striking in two rounds only to narrowly miss the cut because of issues with his short-game, and the message is very much that he's hitting the ball well enough to go close.
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