The Greg Norman designed layout in Muscat, Oman has hosted this event the past two years and with a handful of Challenge Tour events we have a folder of evidence to look back on when analysing this years market. The course has been praised by the players over the last few years and presents a fair challenge with a mixture of links, desert and seaside elements to take into account. Wind usually plays its part here and although calm conditions are forecast the slightest wind here will be a cause for concern.

Thomas Pieters heads the market at 11/1 and can be easily passed up giving the amount of opportunities he has spurned down the last handful of years. Kaymer has shown glimpses of a distant past over the last twelve months but question marks remain about whether he will put four rounds together and even if he does he looks beatable. Thomas Detry remains at a criminally low price to my eyes. He often plays well in spurts but regularly finds himself out of the running on the final back 9 of events. He is one I'd look to take on in markets these days as he hasn't delivered on a lot of promise. This leaves the market wide open and there just has to be plays further down the field.

ZANDER LOMBARD (80-1 / 7 places) returns from a very respectable 26th place finish in Mexico and looks a pretty price to land the odds here. Around December and the new year I thought he was going off silly short for some events but this looks a much better prospect with not a ton of big names. Links form isn't a given pointer at this track but I don't think you'll go far wrong if you fire darts at a few of those with form by the sea. Lombard has two top tens at Irish Links tracks as well as well as being beaten by Bradley Neil in the 2014 Amateur Championship at Portrush. The Rocco Forte I'd say is another good pointer towards this event and he was in a playoff there back in 2017. Overall his best form comes by the sea and he should be boosted by landing that decent cheque last week in Mexico.

1.25pts each-way Z. Lombard 80/1 (1/5 7 places)

Zander Lombard - 1.25pts e/w @ 80/1

MATHIEU PAVON (66-1 / 7 places) has had difficulty in finding four good rounds in the one week but the Frenchman looks worth supporting at 66/1 in Muscat. He looked to be relishing the Desert swing finishing 11th in both the Saudi International and the Dubai Desert. A final round 69 in Dubai is worthy of a mention on a day when most struggled with the winds. There are similarities between those tracks and this Norman design and he may be quietly confident of continuing this excellent run of form. A 3rd placed finish in the 2017 Scottish Open is another positive heading to this track. Certainly not one to get carried away with and couldn't be much shorter in the market but has a lively chance.

1pt each-way M. Pavon 66/1 (1/5 7 places)

Mathieu Pavon - 1pt e/w @ 66/1

GEORGE COETZEE (66-1 / 7 places) missed the cut on debut here last year but had entered the event with some rotten form. This time around it's a lot more respectable. Top 25s in the Dunhill Championship and in Mauritius saw out in 2019 in fair form and an improvement was to come with a top ten at the SA Open. Recently he finished 2nd to Bezuidenhout in the Dimension Data shooting rounds of 65-69-65-66. Last week he finished a disappointing 8th in the Sunhine Tour Championship with a first round of 73 proving his undoing. That being said that's 7 of his last 8 rounds in the 60s and he must arrive in Muscat a confident man. When he is confident he can produce some devastating golf and with room off the tee this week he can be expected to attack. Certainly one of the better propositions at 50/1.

1pt each-way G. Coetzee 50/1 (1/4 6 places)

George Coetzee - 1pt e/w @ 50/1

JUSTIN HARDING (60-1 / 7 places) is another on his way back from Mexico with a healthy cheque and given he has already won in the Desert must be worth a bash here at 66/1. It's easy to forget it was less than a year ago than this man was finishing 12th at the Masters. Some inconsistency followed but a 7th at the Dunhill Championship in December was an upturn in form and lead to some respectable totals in the three Desert events in the last month or so. Overall he is not doing much wrong and his 29th place finish in Mexico last week could have been a shade better had he not stalled to a 72 on day four. He won the Qatar Masters last year and has that Desert form backed up with a 7th in the Dubai Desert and 11th in Saudi.

1pt each-way J. Harding 60/1 (1/5 7 places)

Justin Harding - 1pt e/w @ 60/1

There aren't an awful lot of golfers in this field ranked higher in the world rankings than CALUM HILL (125-1 / 7 places) and yet you'll find him almost half way down the field in the betting. The Scot won twice on the Challenge Tour last year but has yet to produce many heroics on the big stage. Missed cuts in Saudi and Abu Dhabi were disappointing as I'd have thought the conditions would have suited. However, at 125/1 in a weak enough field he can't be passed up. I was hugely impressed with his debut effort at Leopard Creek finishing 13th on a difficult layout. This course provides enough challenges to have to think your way around and maybe Hill be suited to these examinations. Seems worth chancing given his potential.

0.75pt each-way C. Hill 125/1 (1/5 7 places)

Calum Hill - 0.75pts e/w @ 125/1