Bahrain Championship 2024: Field, betting odds, and tee times for this inaugural DP World Tour event

The DP World Tour returns to Bahrain for the first time since 2011 to play the inaugural 2024 Bahrain Championship

The DP World Tour continues its International Swing with a return to Bahrain for the first time in 13 years

The Bahrain Championship marks the first time a DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) event will be hosted in the country since the 2011 Volvo Golf Champions tournament. The winner that week was 34-year-old Paul Casey who’ll be teeing it up this week at LIV’s season opener.

The Volvo Golf Champions tournament only lasted that one year despite being a resounding success with some of the best golfers in the world teeing up in Bahrain. Hopefully, the Bahrain Championship will continue beyond its inaugural event.

The Bahrain Championship is the fourth event of the DP World Tour’s International Swing and is the penultimate stop on the Persian Gulf before the Tour heads to Qatar for the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Who is playing in the Bahrain Championship?

With the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am taking place this week many of the best players in the world, including Rory McIlroy, making his 2024 PGA Tour debut, and last week’s Farmers Insurance Open winner Matthieu Pavon. While Thorbjorn Olesen who won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship last week is taking a week off.

Rasmus Hojgaard is the highest-ranked competitor in the field this week. The Dane will be hoping to go one better than last week’s second-place finish and lift the trophy on Sunday. The only other player in the top 100 playing this week in Bahrain is Jordan Smith. The Englishman will be hoping to capitalize on a weak field and earn his first victory since emerging victorious at the 2022 Portugal Masters.

There are some players returning to Bahrain who played all those years ago in 2011 at the Volvo Golf Champions tournament. The highest finisher thirteen years ago in the field this week is Stephen Gallacher. Other players who teed it up around the same course back in January 2011 are Eduardo Molinari, Pablo Larrazabal, and Thomas Bjorn.

Despite it not being the strongest field there is a whole host of golfers hoping to win in Bahrain. Take a look at the full list of players teeing it up in the Bahrain Championship and how they qualified here.

What is the format of the Bahrain Championship?

It is a standard strokeplay event played over 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes (two rounds) that sees the leading 65 players and ties make the final two rounds. The player who achieves the lowest score over four rounds will win the tournament.

Where is the Bahrain Championship being played?

The Bahrain Championship is being held at the Royal Golf Club in Bahrain. It’s the only eighteen-hole championship golf course in the nation – it hosted the Volvo Golf Champions tournament in 2011. The 7261-yard, par 72 golf course was designed by a golfing great, Colin Montgomerie.

The Royal Golf Club is a brilliant test for tour players and amateur golfers with four lakes littered around the course and vast sandy waste areas. See where the Royal Golf Club ranked in our Top 100 Best Golf Courses in the Middle East and North Africa.

Who will win the Bahrain Championship?

On paper, this looks like it should be an easy victory for Rasmus Hojgaard – being the highest ranked player in the field and he’s off the back of a strong performance last week in the UAE – but golf isn’t won on paper. However, Hojgaard is the firm favorite with the bookmakers at 10/1.

Other players at the head of the market are Yannik Paul at 16/1 and Jordan Smith at 18/1. Both players have had a top-5 finish this season and being the second and third highest-ranked players in the field it’s hardly surprising to see both their names so prominent in the betting. South Africa’s Zander Lombard is once again towards the top of the market, as he was last week for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

Selected odds (correct at 5 pm GMT on Jan 29, 2024)

Rasmus Hojgaard 10/1

Yannik Paul 16/1

Jordan Smith 18/1

Zander Lombard 20/1

Antoine Rozner 25/1

Romain Langasque 28/1

Alex Fitzpatrick 28/1

Joost Luiten 33/1

Bernd Wiesberger 40/1

Pablo Larrazabal 50/1

How much does the winner of the Bahrain Championship receive?

The winner of the inaugural Bahrain Championship will earn $425,000 which is a sizeable chunk of the $2,500,000 purse.

How to watch the Bahrain Championship

UK viewers can catch all the action on Sky Sports Golf

All times GMT

Thursday, February 1: Sky Sports Golf, 08.30

Friday, February 2: Sky Sports Golf, 08.30

Saturday, February 3: Sky Sports Golf, 09.00

Sunday, February 4: Sky Sports Golf, 08.30

US viewers can catch all the action on Golf Channel

All times EST

Thursday, February 1: The Golf Channel, 03.30

Friday, February 2: The Golf Channel, 03.30

Saturday, February 3: The Golf Channel, 04.00

Sunday, February 4: The Golf Channel, 03.30

The Bahrain Championship Tee Times

Tee time information for the opening two rounds can be viewed here.

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About the author

James Hogg – Golf Equipment Writer

James has a degree in English Language from Newcastle University and an MA in Journalism from Kingston University.

He spent seven years working for American Golf as part of the sales and fitting team alongside his studies and is a specialist in putters, golf balls, and apparel.

James took up golf as a teenager and, thanks largely to his length and consistency off the tee, he plays off a handicap of 4.7 at Cleveland Golf Club.

You can contact James via email for loads more golf equipment insight.