Ras Al Khaimah Championship 2025 Picks, Predictions And Odds

Following the excitement of the first Rolex Series event this season at the Dubai Desert Classic, it's back down to business and up the coast as the Ras Al Khaimah Championship continues the DP World Tour's International Swing.

This event is relatively new on the European Tour's schedule, with the first tournament only taking place in 2022, but scoring has always been on the lower side therefore fans have enjoyed watching players make regular birdies and eagles.

While the field is not quite as strong as last week, the Ras Al Khaimah Championship still contains two of the three former winners, a couple of former Ryder Cup players and a small batch of Major champions along with any number of recognizable names.

Patrick Reed, Padraig Harrington and Jimmy Walker have all lifted one of the four biggest prizes in the sport, and they will tee it up looking for their latest victory this week.

Below, the Golf Monthly news team has picked out a couple of names each who we believe will be in contention for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on Sunday.

Ras Al Khaimah Championship Course: Al Hamra GC

The 18-hole championship course at Al Hamra Golf Club - which opened in 2007 and was designed by Peter Harradine - will play as a 7,378-yard par-72 this week.

Working its way in the opposite direction to the clubhouse on the front nine and back in coming home, it meanders around four inter-connected open water lagoons which ultimately merge with the Arabian Gulf.

The course was initially supposed to be built on the salt flats bordering the water's edge, but it ended up being laid out across five million cubic meters of sand. Along with the help of some expert shaping, the elevation change at Al Hamra Golf Club ranges from one to eight meters above sea level.

The course's DP World Tour tournament record score was achieved by Thorbjorn Olesen on his way to winning in 2024. The Dane ended on 27-under and hit the ball just 261 times during all four rounds.

RAS AL KHAIMAH CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIOUS WINNERS

RAS AL KHAIMAH CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING ODDS

The odds to win outright are via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Thorbjorn Olesen (+1000)
• Patrick Reed (+1800)
• Ryan Fox (+2200)
• Keita Nakajima (+2200)
• Jordan Smith (+2500)
• Tom McKibbin (+2500)
• Johannes Veerman (+2500)
• David Puig (+2800)
• Matthew Jordan (+3000)
• Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+3500)
• Shaun Norris (+3500)
• Julien Guerrier (+3500)
• Daniel Hillier (+4000)
• Brandon Stone (+4000)
• Guido Migliozzi (+4000)
• Alex Fitzpatrick (+4000)
• Romain Langasque (+4500)
• Thomas Pieters (+4500)
• Sebastian Soderberg (+4500)
• Angel Ayora (+4500)
• Ewen Ferguson (+4500)
• Jorge Campillo (+5000)
• Frederic Lacroix (+5000)
• Paul Waring (+5500)
• All remaining players have odds of +6000 or higher

RAS AL KHAIMAH CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING PICKS

Elliott Heath

FAVORITE: Tom McKibbin (+2500)

I’m happy to back Tom McKibbin for a second consecutive week after a brilliant T6th finish at the Dubai Desert Classic. The Northern Irishman, who is reportedly joining Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf team, will be desperate to continue to rack up world ranking and Ryder Cup points if he is indeed making the move to the 54-hole tour.

McKibbin posted four under-par rounds last week and returns to Al Hamra GC where he was T16th last year with a score of 14-under-par. He’ll need to go low this week, so let’s hope he can get off to a fast start and build on that.

OUTSIDER: Shaun Norris (+3500)

The South African was also T6th at the Dubai Desert Classic, continuing an incredible run after ending 2024 with back-to-back wins on the Japan Golf Tour and DP World Tour.

Norris played here in 2023, finishing T42nd, and also 2022 where he was T9th thanks to four rounds in the 60s. Let’s hope he can keep this run of form up and contend once again.

Matt Cradock

FAVORITE: Ryan Fox (+2200)

The New Zealander finished inside the top-10 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, with the tournament being his first outing since October 2024. Following his third round, Fox explained that "his prep had been going well" so, going into this season, that can only be a good sign.

What's more, Fox finished T11th when he last played the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in 2023 and won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic back in 2022. He has a great record in the UAE and, with the 37-year-old back following a lengthy rest, I think he has what it takes to be in contention on Sunday.

OUTSIDER: Angel Hidalgo (+12000)

Hidalgo has somewhat struggled since his Open de Espana victory, but over the past two events, he has made cuts and is showing signs of improvement, pin-pointed by a T31st finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Last year, Hidalgo finished inside the top-10 at this event despite a poor final round, with the Spaniard also finishing in a tie for 28th at Al Hamra GC back in 2022, showing he has course form. He'll be wanting to get back on track and, at a layout he likes, it could well be this week.

Jonny Leighfield

FAVORITE: Patrick Reed (+1800)

Reed has been a semi-regular player over the past few months as he tunes up for the coming LIV Golf League campaign, so although he's never played this event before, he has been ticking over nicely while others may have taken longer breaks.

The American won four starts ago and has not been outside the top-20 since, with some outrageous putting stats suggesting he might well be one of the men to beat if this historically low-scoring affair turns into a putting contest. If he can avoid disasters off the tee, I feel like the Ras Al Khaimah Championship is Reed's to lose.

OUTSIDER: Ewen Ferguson (+4500)

The Scot was playing some really good golf in Dubai last week before he was put on the clock late in the third round and it scrambled his thought processes somewhat from there on out. On the face of it, a 16th-place finish appears so-so, but most of the first three days exhibited exactly what Ferguson can do.

He was much improved on his 2023 Ras Al Khaimah display in 2024 via a top-25 result, so I'm hoping he can combine last week's overall performance with an ever-increasing knowledge of Al Hamra and some strong recent form to generate a good finish.

HOW TO WATCH RAS AL KHAIMAH CHAMPIONSHIP

USA (ET)

• Thursday, January 23 - Round One: 3:30am - 8:30am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports app)
• Friday, January 24 - Round Two: 3:30am - 8:30am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports app)
• Saturday, January 25 - Round Three: 3:00am - 8:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports app)
• Sunday, January 26 - Round Four: 3:00am - 8:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports app)

UK (GMT)

• Thursday, January 23 - Round One: 8:30am - 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
• Friday, January 24 - Round Two: 8:30am - 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
• Saturday, January 25 - Round Three: 8:30am - 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)
• Sunday, January 26 - Round Four: 8:00am - 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)

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