Ras Al Khaimah Championship: Fantasy DP World Tour ones to watch

The DP World Tour's official fantasy game moves across the UAE to the Ras Al Khaimah Championship this week and here is all that players need to know.

The Ras Al Khaimah Championship returns to Al Hamra Golf Club this week for its fourth edition as the second event on the DP World Tour's International Swing.

Tyrrell Hatton's victory at last week's Hero Dubai Desert Classic has given him a commanding early lead in the Rankings but with five events to go after this week it is still all to play for, with Daniel Hillier even able to overtake the Englishman with a victory on Sunday.

There is an elite field trying to deny him that victory, however, with defending champion Thorbjørn Olesen teeing it up alongside fellow Rolex Series winners Paul Waring, Ryan Fox, Thomas Pieters, Bernd Wiesberger, Brandon Stone and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Major champions Pádraig Harrington, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed are also playing this week alongside 2008 Harry Vardon Trophy winner Robert Karlsson, who is making his first DP World Tour appearance since 2021.

From insight into the week’s most-picked players among Fantasy managers, to our ones to watch, we run the rule ahead of Thursday’s deadline to pick your team.

Who are the most backed players?

Fantasy Insight: The most picked player in the early stages of selection is Kiwi Fox, who may not have a win at this event but does have one at this venue. In 2022 he won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic and with an 11th-placed finsh here at this event in 2023, he is backed by 73% of players.

Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin is picked by 63% of players after his top ten last week, with Olesen then the choice of 54%

Formers Masters champion Reed and rising Danish star Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen round out the top five.

Who are our ones to watch?

Here, we pick out three players in action this week who are worth considering for your Fantasy team selections.

Favourite - Thorbjørn Olesen

Our players may have Fox as the favourite but the betting markets are going with the defending champion and we have to back the bookies here. The Dane's six-shot victory at this event last year was the biggest of the season and he also finished fourth in 2023. He has missed just five DP World Tour cuts since the start of the 2023 season, with 12 top tens outside of his two wins. He also won in 2022, making him the only player with wins in the last three DP World Tour seasons and has five top tens in his last seven individual events. A dual member, he'll be keen to pick up some early-season Race to Dubai Rankings points, while he will also have an eye on a second Ryder Cup appearance in the autumn.

Form Horse - Shaun Norris

A sixth-placed finish in Dubai last week following his Alfred Dunhill Championship win before the festive break could be enough to earn Norris the Form Horse tag but there is more to it than that if you look at his international record. He actually has three top tens in his last four DP World Tour appearances dating back to the Jonsson Workwear Open last March and between then and his Leopard Creek victory he has been consistently challenging on the Japan Golf Tour. He won the prestigious Golf Nippon Series JT Cup - making it two wins in December - and has seven other top tens including two runner-up finishes. The South African was outside the top 400 in the Official World Golf Ranking 12 months ago - now he is knocking on the door of the top 100.

Wild Card - Daniel Gavins

There will be two opposite schools of thought to be against Gavins as a wild card: one will say that a former champion can never be demoted to a wild card and the other will say picking a player who played just two weekends out of 18 last season is too wild. But surely that is what makes him a perfect fit? In 2024, Gavins suffered off-course heartache wiith the passing of his father and inside the ropes he made his first and last cuts of the season with ten missed cuts and six retirements inbetween. But he has now made three cuts in a row with the help of a hypnotherapist and said in Dubai that while he was aiming for a win in 2025, he would be glad to just enjoy his golf again. A happy and relaxed two-time winner is a dangerous two-time winner.

How can I play?

If you have not done so already, you can still sign up to play the official 2025 DP World Tour Fantasy game and submit your six-man team before round one gets under way on Thursday.

To play Fantasy DP World Tour, click here.

What can I win?

There are plenty of prizes on offer throughout the 2025 season including the Ultimate Prize courtesy of DP World which includes:

- Flights to Dubai for two people

- Accommodation in Dubai for two people

- Private lesson from a top DP World Tour professional on the Earth Course driving range

- Two ball on the Earth Course the day after tournament play finishes

- Two General Admission Season Tickets for the 2025 DP World Tour Championship

Those that finish second to fifth in the season long competition will also receive a range of DP World Tour Store vouchers. There will also be prizes to be won on a weekly and monthly basis so no matter how well you start or when you sign up to play, you will always have the opportunity to win.

Looking back - Hero Dubai Desert Classic

We picked a winner last week, with Form Horse Hatton taking the title and 228 points for the just over 16,000 players that picked him, with 2,274 making him their captain.

Our Favourite Rory McIlroy was unsurprisingly the most-picked player and he rewarded the 64.98% of players who picked him with a tie for fourth - his 12th consecutive top ten at the event including four wins.

Wild Card Johannes Veerman finished in a tiie for 37th after being in the mix heading iinto the weekend.

Season so far - 2025 DP World Tour Fantasy Top 10 player rankings