Dubai Desert Classic 2025 FRL Tips: 60/1, 66/1 & 90/1 Picks

The Dubai Desert Classic is next up on the DP Tour for the players as the golf starts heating up after the slowdown over the holidays.

As always, our golf tipster Jamie Worsley has studied the field and put together his thoughts for who might be on top of the leaderboard come close of play on Day 1. You can check out his Dubai Desert Classic 2025 FRL Tips here...

*You can read Jamie's in-depth Dubai Desert Classic 2025 Tips & Betting Preview elsewhere on Betfred Insights.

The Dubai Desert Classic begins tomorrow at Emirates Golf Club, where some afternoon breeze looks set to hand the advantage to the early starters in our first DP World Tour round of the year.

The forecast for Thursday is bright and clear throughout, with temperatures starting off warm and rising to the mid-20s later on. However, whilst those who tee off in the morning (between 07:05 – 08:45) will be greeted by calm conditions, with winds blowing at just 6mph, it starts to kick up as the later starters begin their rounds at 11:25 and continues to rise over the course of the afternoon, with gusting winds that could reach highs of 20mph currently predicted. 

With that, the clear favour lies with the morning tee times and that's where each of my three selections will come from this week. 

Brandon Stone  

Start time: 07:55 

South Africa's Brandon Stone was in fine form at the end of 2024, and as a former runner-up here at Emirates Golf Club, I'm taking him to make a fast start to his 2025 campaign tomorrow. 

Stone was showing positive signs throughout much of the last year on the DPWT, hitting the top 10 on five occasions but was struggling for consistency early on. However, as he started to find some form on the greens, he put together a strong run of results and signed off the year by finishing inside the top 30 in nine of his last 10 starts. 

That improved putting sees him rank 5th in this field on the greens over the last six months, whilst his strength off-the-tee has been ever-present, ranking 11th over that same time period.  

He was also performing strongly in the opening round in those final 10 events last year, ranking 17th in round one scoring and when we last saw him, he opened with a 5-under 67 in the Alfred Dunhill Championship to sit 5th after 18 holes. 

Stone has recorded two top-10 finishes here in seven visits, going especially close when 2nd in 2021. He hasn't played the event since 2022, when finishing 26th, though he did make his best start ever there, with a 4-under 68 enough for a first-round top 10 and if able to carry that form over from the end of last year, he can go even better this time. 

Haotong Li  

Start time: 07:35 

2018 Dubai Desert Classic winner, Haotong Li was part of a four-way tie for the first-round lead in this event last year, and having shown some promise at the end of 2024, he's taken to make another swift start in the Middle East. 

Li started 2024 well, making each of his first nine cuts and recording five top-25 finishes, including a 7th-place finish here. He struggled to show a similar level of consistency during the rest of the year, but there were some positive signs towards the end, as he finished 7th on his third-last start in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. 

He hit the ball well for much of the year, particularly excelling in approach, ranking 14th in this field over the previous 12 months. In addition, he often did most of his best work in the opening round, ranking 7th over that same time in round one performance. 

Li started well when winning here in 2018, shooting a 6-under 66 to sit 10th after 18 holes. He again displayed his ability to make a fast start at the course the following year, with a 67 enough for another first-round top 10 and with that day-one lead still fresh in the mind from last year, he looked an obvious selection in this market.  

Alejandro Del Rey  

Start time: 08:15 

Alejandro Del Rey didn't quite kick on as anticipated in his second season on the DPWT in 2024. That being said, he was showing some form at the end of the year and having gone very well for a long way on his debut at Emirates Golf Club last year, he made plenty of appeal. 

Del Rey kicked off last year with a 38th-place finish here, though he actually entered the final round in 10th place, before a 77 saw him slide down the leaderboard. That was part of an overall strong start to the year, as he made the first eight cuts in a row, but he was much less consistent over the following four months. Although, he again found some encouraging form over his final eight start, something I'm hoping he can carry over into his first round of 2025. 

The big-hitting Spaniard was in much less control of his driver last year than in 2023, though he had started to improve over those closing events. He was, however, much improved on the greens, ranking 9th with the putter over the last six months. 

Del Rey had several strong opening-round performances last year, recording four first-round top 10s, including shooting a 67 to sit 2nd after round one of the Irish Open. Most of these efforts came at venues where quality off-the-tee is a major asset and if now back in form with the club, he can hit the top on day one in Dubai. 

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