Oman Open: Steve Palmer's golf betting tips, preview & TV details

TV: Sky Sports Golf, 6.30am Thursday

Joost Luiten won the inaugural Oman Open last year and the diminutive Dutchman can approach his title defence with confidence, having finished tenth in a much higher grade on Sunday.

Luiten closed with a 64 to shoot up the WGC-Mexico Championship leaderboard and that Oman warm-up was his third top-ten finish in four starts this year. The six-time European Tour champion has every chance of success, but the journey from Mexico seems a significant negative.

The favourite faced travel time of more than 24 hours to get from Mexico City to Muscat, which is far from ideal preparation.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Clement Sordet 55-1
Al Mouj staged a Challenge Tour event from 2013 through 2017 and the final one of those was won by Clement Sordet, a super-talented Frenchman who should soon make his breakthrough on the main circuit.

Sordet's ace at the eighth hole during his Grand Final glory at Al Mouj was named Challenge Tour Shot of the Year and he can be fancied to build more happy memories at the venue this year. The track plays to his strengths, wide fairways encouraging this powerful, attacking sort, and he possesses the putting touch to flourish on the large, undulating greens.

An excellent fortnight of work in Australia – eighth spot in the Vic Open was followed by ninth place in the strokeplay element of the World Super 6 – has set Sordet up nicely for his trip to Oman. He was beaten in the knockout stages in Perth at the first extra hole – one under par for those seven holes – and has got his act together at the perfect time to again be a factor.

Sordet enjoyed much success at Texas Tech in his college days, before winning four times on the Challenge Tour, and the 26-year-old has the ability to become a European Tour champion. His finest performance as a professional was arguably second place in the 2015 Thailand Golf Championship, where he was competing with Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Matt Fitzpatrick, Bubba Watson and others in a strong line-up.

Much of Sordet's best golf has come in Asia, including third place in the 2017 Ras Al Khaimah Challenge, across the Oman border in the UAE.

Next best bet

Thomas Pieters 12-1
Luiten must be respected, but is entitled to be weary, and arguably the most likely winner of the event is Thomas Pieters. The star of the 2016 Ryder Cup has slowly worked himself back into form over the last nine months, has started to putt with assurance again, and looks almost certain to take an immediate shine to Al Mouj.

Sixth place in the US PGA in August was the most revealing clue that Pieters was getting back in business, but that was not enough to earn him a place in the 2019 Masters. The Belgian ended the year outside of the top 50 of the world rankings and will be desperate to get back inside in time for an Augusta invitation.

Pieters, 79th in the world rankings, knows he must produce the goods immediately to keep alive his hopes of getting back to Augusta, where he finished fourth in 2017. Highly motivated and arriving off eight consecutive top-30 finishes, expect this underachiever to quickly make an impression in Oman. He has an excellent record in this region, including three top-five finishes in the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Like Sordet, Pieters was under par in defeat in the knockout stages in Perth. Fifth place in the strokeplay competition further underlined the increasing comfort of this class act, who opened with a 63 in Saudi Arabia on his last trip to the Middle East. He fired a 62 in Turkey in November and surely a tournament-winning four-day performance will soon be coming.

Others worth backing

Marcus Kinhult 40-1
Matthias Schwab 50-1
Max Orrin 150-1
Challenge Tour form also points to the chances of Marcus Kinhult and Matthias Schwab, two of the most promising youngsters to have emerged from the lower grade in recent years. Kinhult finished runner-up to Sordet in that 2017 Grand Final, one of several commendable desert efforts.

This is only Kinhult's fourth year as a touring pro, but he was fourth in the 2016 Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, 16th in the inaugural Oman Open and third in the Qatar Masters the following week. The 22-year-old closed with a pair of 67s for 18th place in the Saudi International last time out and it seems only a matter of time before the calm Swede makes a European Tour breakthrough.

Schwab, who turned pro in the summer of 2017, has a similar temperament to Kinhult. They both made a name for themselves by performing superbly as teens in their respective national tournaments – the Nordea Masters and the Austrian Open. They both played links golf well as amateurs and should relish the so-called 'Links of Oman' this week.

Schwab finished 14th at Al Mouj in the 2017 Grand Final and his rookie campaign on the European Tour went well. The Austrian posted four top-ten finishes, then opened the new season with ninth place in the Hong Kong Open. A closing 66 for 24th spot in Saudi Arabia last time out provided further evidence that Schwab has settled in this grade and will soon become a champion.

Max Orrin is also worthy of support at massive prices. The 24-year-old Margate man won the 2014 Oman Classic at this course, the first of his two Challenge Tour victories, and he finished seventh and 15th in his two subsequent spins at Al Mouj.

Orrin has performed well in the UAE, too, and has been dismissed too easily after back-to-back missed cuts in Australia. He carded no worse than 72 in his four rounds Down Under and has shown enough form over the last eight months to be considered a dangerman on his favourite track in a humdrum field.

Players to note

Min Woo Lee
The 20-year-old Australian is bursting with potential and his last trip to the region ended with fourth place in the Saudi International after back-to-back weekend 63s. He lost in the quarter-finals of the Super 6 last time out.

Jordan Smith
The Bath boy has a strong desert record and finished 26th amid a poor run of form in last season's Oman Open. He seems a likely contender, but switched to new equipment at the start of the year and results have worsened (11-29-54).

Romain Langasque
The French youngster is full of potential and looks set to become a European Tour champion soon enough, but he finished 44th of 46 runners in his only previous Al Mouj start.

Gavin Green
The Malaysian powerhouse is a brilliant but raw talent, who could take a liking to the fairly straightforward dimensions of Al Mouj. He finished 11th in Saudi Arabia.

Paul Dunne
The Irishman showed signs of life on his Australian adventure – 17th in the Vic Open and third in Perth – and will appreciate the room off the tee at Al Mouj.

Thomas Detry
The Belgian won the World Cup alongside Thomas Pieters in November. This looks another excellent opportunity for an individual breakthrough.

Staking plan
C Sordet
2pts each-way 55-1 Sky Bet
T Pieters
4pts 12-1 general
M Kinhult
1.5pts each-way 40-1 BoyleSports
M Schwab
1.5pts each-way 50-1 Betfred
M Orrin
0.5pt each-way 150-1 Sky Bet

Oman Open lowdown

Course Al Mouj Golf, Muscat, Oman

Prize money €1.54m (€233,235 to the winner)
Length 7,365 yards Par 72 Field 138
Course records - 72 holes 267 Bernd Ritthammer (2016) 18 holes 63 Alexander Bjork (2016), Gary King (2016)

Course winners taking part Max Orrin, Ricardo Gouveia, Bernd Ritthammer, Clement Sordet

When to bet By 3am Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 6.30am Thursday

Time difference Oman is four hours ahead of the UK and Ireland

Course overview This tournament was added to the European Tour schedule last year, but the venue had been employed on the Challenge Tour in the previous five years.

The National Bank of Oman Golf Classic was the penultimate event on the Challenge Tour schedule in 2013 and 2014, before becoming the season-ending showpiece from 2015 to 2017.

The Greg Norman-designed Al Mouj, opened in September, 2012, staged all of the CT gatherings. The track runs along stretch of pristine coastline, flanking the Indian Ocean, providing an oasis of lush green grass.

It features numerous bunkers, water hazards and natural dunes, while players typically face a stiff breeze. The exposed layout has Paspalum SeaDwarf grass throughout.

The fairways are flat and wide, while the greens are large and undulating. There are two par-fives on each nine – the shortest is the 543-yard 12th and the longest is the 598-yard seventh.

Story of last year The event turned into a duel between Joost Luiten and Chris Wood, the superior putting of the Dutchman proving decisive

Weather forecast Sunny and warm for the vast majority of the event, with gentle to moderate afternoon breezes.

Type of player suited to the challenge The course has been labelled 'links-style' by its creators, but is too lush to fit perfectly with that description.

Powerhouses have room to attack from the tee, while great touch will be required on and around the large, undulating greens. Those with previous course experience from the Challenge Tour can hit the ground running.

Key attribute Touch

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