Dubai Desert Classic 2026 FRL Tips: Three to start hot in the desert

The Dubai Desert Classic begins at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday and with windy conditions forecast throughout, the first-round leader market looks wide open.

You can read Jamie's thoughts on the opening round and his three selections for the Dubai Desert Classic FRL Market here on Betfred Insights...

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You can read Jamie's full Dubai Desert Classic 2025 Betting Tips main preview here. 

Play commences at 7:05am tomorrow, when 15mph winds (gusting at close to 30mph) will greet the earliest starters. It’s predicted to remain at a similar level all day, and with 20°C temperatures and hazy sunshine, there is little suggestion of a draw bias.

This means we can pick freely across the morning and afternoon tee times, and I’ve got three selections who I’m hoping can top the leaderboard on day one.

You can bet on the event and check out all of the latest live Dubai Desert Classic Odds over on betfred.com

0.75 pts Casey Jarvis each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 66/1

Start time: 8.15am

South Africa’s Casey Jarvis ended 2025 with a 3^rd-place finish at the Mauritius Open – his best ever finish on the DP World Tour (DPWT). The foundation of that result was a first-round lead in the windiest of conditions, and possessing an encouraging record at Emirates Golf Club, he looks a lively contender in this market.

Jarvis was treading water on the DPWT through much of last year, but he did produce a best of 13^th in the Nexo Championship in severely high winds. His overall form improved when he returned to South Africa in November, where he won back-to-back events on the Sunshine Tour, and he carried momentum into the new DPWT season with that effort in Mauritius.

He hit the ball brilliantly on his most recent appearance, ranking 1^st in greens-in-regulation (GIR), 2^nd in SG: Off-the-Tee (SG: OTT), and 3^rd in driving accuracy. Meanwhile, he was starting quickly over the final three months of the season, ranking 28^th in this field in first-round performance.

Jarvis has played here twice, finishing 41^st in 2024 and 37^th in 2025. After opening with a four-under 68 to sit 9^th after 18 holes last year, he returns in strong form and looks primed for a fast start tomorrow.

0.75 pts Grant Forrest each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 70/1

Start time: 7.35am

Grant Forrest dominated the field at the Nexo Championship back in August, thriving in some of the most challenging and blustery conditions seen on the DPWT in 2025. He made a taking return at the Dubai Invitational last week, finishing 20^th, and having never missed the cut here in six attempts, he’s well placed to feature on tomorrow’s leaderboard.

Forrest picked up eight top-25s in total last year, where his ability in the wind was further evidenced by an 11^th-place finish in the Dunhill Links and 13^th in the KLM Open. He was then solid across the week upon his return in Dubai, shooting rounds of 71-70-72-70 to finish 20^th.

I was more impressed by how the Scot performed statistically last week, rather than his final result. He ranked 6^th in SG: Tee-to-Green (SG: T2G), 10^th in GIR, and inside the top 20 in both SG: OTT and SG: Approach. The putter held him back, but he has generally performed well on the greens at Emirates Golf Club.

Forrest was making some fast starts at the end of 2025, hitting the top 10 on day one of the DP World Tour Championship, the Alfred Dunhill Links, and the Open de Espana. He hasn’t quite managed a start of that quality in this event, but with six made cuts to his name, including a best of 16^th in 2020, he looks capable of bucking that trend.

0.75 pts Jacob Skov Olesen each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 90/1

Start time: 11.55am

Last up is second-season Dane Jacob Skov Olesen. He performed strongly after a poor start at Dubai Creek last week, and as a proven wind player who displays quality across the board, he should take a liking to this week’s layout on his first try.

Olesen’s rookie season produced 11 top-25s and six top-10s. Encouragingly, his best effort came on that brutally difficult week in the Nexo Championship, finishing 3^rd, and he again managed his game well in the breeze to finish 5^th in the Dunhill Links.

He endured a challenging time in the first round of the Dubai Invitational, opening with a seven-over 78 to sit 58^th of 59 players. However, he responded positively, following with rounds of 70, 73 and 66 to rise to 30^th by the end of the tournament.

Olesen gained strokes through the bag in 2025 and was also a generally strong first-round performer, ranking 40^th in this field. His standout display in this regard came at The Open, where he shared the first-round lead, and with those top-five finishes in the wind boding well, expect him to make a flying start on Thursday.

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