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Expert Picks: Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

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This week the focus of the fantasy world is split. Our experts share their picks for the Farmers Insurance Open here, while their picks for the European Tour’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters are below. Each week, a panel of experts will offer up their picks from four groups of players based on Golf Channel’s new fantasy game, Fantasy Challenge. We will also keep track of their scores and standings. The panel includes: senior writers Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell and Jason Sobel; contributors John Hawkins and Win McMurry; editorial director Jay Coffin; ‘Morning Drive’ host Gary Williams and staff writer Ryan Lavner.


Rex Hoggard

Group 1: Justin Rose: Although he faded on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the Englishman was solid in his 2013 debut and suggested last week he’s ready to take the next step in his career and win a major championship.

Group 2: George Coetzee: The South African has been as consistent as anyone the last 12 months, and hasn’t missed a cut since last August’s PGA Championship.

Group 3: Gregory Bourdy: Has a decent record in the Middle East (he tied for 16th last year in Dubai) and he could be this week’s surprise champion (see Donaldson, Jamie in Abu Dhabi).

Group 4: Peter Whiteford: The Scot was steady in his 2013 debut last week in Abu Dhabi (T-48) and will benefit if the Middle East wind continues to blow like it did last week.


Jason Sobel

Group 1: Jason Dufner: Look, the dude didn’t go all the way to Qatar because he heard great things about the night life. He’s there to pull a W.

Group 2: Thorbjorn Olesen: I was on him last week and he came up one stroke shy of a playoff. No reason to get off now.

Group 3: David Howell: Another carryover from last week’s lineup. I’m expecting big things from Howeller.

Group 4: David Horsey: Hey, you know what they say...um, Horseys for courseys. OK, OK. That was awful.


Randall Mell

Group 1: Justin Rose: He makes up for last week and closes the deal.

Group 2: Henrik Stenson: Form is returning to a guy who has a win and three 2nds in Qatar.

Group 3: Marc Warren: A couple of top 20s at Qatar hint at more in the future.

Group 4: Jose Maria Olazabal: Ollie made a nice run last year in Qatar.


Will Gray

Group 1: Sergio Garcia: Consistency, thy name is Garcia - in Qatar, at least. The Spaniard has logged four top-10 finishes in the last five years in Doha, a streak that will hopefully continue.

Group 2: Henrik Stenson: The Swede is experiencing a resurgence, and few can rival his track record here following a win and three runner-up finishes from 2005-2009.

Group 3: Ricardo Gonzalez: His fifth-place finish last year was his eighth top-20 result in his last 10 starts in Doha. I’ll take those credentials any day in Group 3.

Group 4: Andrew Dodt: The Aussie finished T-20 here a year ago, and got his 2013 campaign started on the right foot with a T-17 finish in Abu Dhabi that included a third-round 65.