Out of the Rough: Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship (2026)

The DP World Tour continues on with its ‘International Swing’ for the third playing of the Bahrain Championship.

This event was added to the DP World Tour’s schedule for the first time two seasons ago. This year marks just the third playing of the event at the Royal GC in Bahrain.

Prior to the 2024 playing of this event, it had been 13 years since the DP World Tour had played an event in Bahrain. 

This week also marks the third consecutive week in the Middle-East. The Tour will play next week in Qatar before leaving the desert.

The Field

We’re inching closer to having true DP World Tour fields as the stars of the PGA Tour are heading state-side to prepare for the first Signature Event of the season in three two weeks time.

We’ll still see a handful of LIV Golfers continuing their stay on the DP World Tour to collect as many Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) points as possible.

Former Masters’ Champion and LIV Golf member Patrick Reed headlines this week’s field.

He’ll be joined by another former Masters’ winner in Sergio Garcia as well as recent LIV Golf signing and 2025 WM Phoenix Open Champion, Thomas Detry.

Golfing legend Padraig Harrington is also slated to tee it up in the desert this week.

Of course, the DP World Tour regulars will be playing this week as well, including two-time winner on the season, Jayden Schaper.

Other notable names teeing it up this week include Nacho Elvira, Daniel Hillier, Shaun Norris, Dan Bradury, Wenyi Ding, Eugenio Chacarra, Julien Guerrier, Angel Ayora, among others.

Laurie Canter comes in as the deafening champion and will be back this week to defend his title. He topped Dan Brown and Pablo Larrazabal in a playoff a season ago.

Dylan Frittelli won the inaugural playing in 2024 and will also be playing this week.

This week’s host venue will be the Montgomerie Course, Royal Golf Club, Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Course

It plays as a Par-72 at 7,261 yards.

Although this is just the second playing of the Bahrain Championship, this course was used for the inaugural edition of the now defunct Volvo Golf Champions event in 2011. That event was won by Paul Casey at -20, a year after then European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie left him off the team.

Speaking of Montgomerie, he is the designer of this course as it bears his name.

This course has been carved out of the desert and features several water hazards, plenty of bunkers and generous fairways.

According to Montgomerie’s website, this course was "designed and constructed to provide a links style golf experience in the desert, with fast running fairways and open approaches into huge, firm greens which are dramatically contoured."

When played 15 years ago, this course was not well received. Most of the blame went to the  ‘funky’ greens which will play their hand in an eventual winner this week.

The final three holes can offer some dramatics down the stretch. The last three holes each ranked within the eight hardest holes on the golf course as season ago.

As with any desert track, the winds will have a say in how this course is played.

The Weather

As of typing of writing this, there is a 25-percent chance of precipitation on Thursday, a zero-percent chance for both Friday and Saturday and a ten-percent chance on Sunday.  Temperatures will begin this week at 71-degrees on Thursday before dropping to 68-degrees across both Friday and Saturday before returning to 70-degrees on Sunday. Winds will begin this week at 15 miles-per-hour, before dropping to 12 miles-per-hour on Friday, ten miles-per-hour on Saturday and seven miles-per-hour on Sunday.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (SG: TTG)

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Average Driving Distance

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Bogey Avoidance

• Par 4 Average Scoring

Betting Card

Thomas Detry (+2000)

The recent LIV Golf signee has been great on the DP World Tour so far this season. In his last event to grab valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points before heading to LIV, he’ll look for another solid performance. So far this season he placed 14th last week at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and also placed sixth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. So far this season he is third on Tour in sand saves percentage, ninth in bogey avoidance, tenth in average driving distance, 17th in both SG: TTG and SG: PUTT, 26th in par-four average scoring, 34th in birdie-or-better percentage and 39th in SG: APP. 

Julien Gurrier (+3500)

I simply can’t keep my finger off of the pulse when it comes to Guerrier. He placed third last week at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and third the week prior at the Dubai Invitational. He missed the cut at the Alfred Dunhill Championship but also placed sixth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He also placed T21st at this event a season ago and T8th in 2024. So far this season he is 14th on Tour in bogey avoidance, 16th in par-four average scoring, 19th in SG: PUTT, 25th in both SG: TTG and SG: APP, 27th in average driving distance, 30th in birdie-or-better percentage and 44th in sand saves percentage. 

Jorge Campillo (+5500)

Campillo placed T13th here a season ago and missed the cut in 2024. He’s fresh off a 19th place finish a week ago at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He also placed 23rd at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and 23rd at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. On the season he is currently fifth on Tour in SG: APP, 20th in average driving distance, 31st in SG: TTG, 34th in bogey avoidance, 46th in SG: PUTT, 53rd in birdie-or-better percentage, 66th in par-four average scoring and 70th in sand saves percentage. 

Daniel van Tonder (+13000)

Daniel van Tonder is currently third on Tour in both SG: TTG and sand saves percentage, fifth in birdie-or-better percentage, ninth in SG: APP, 20th in bogey avoidance, 30th in par-four average scoring, 53rd in average driving distance and 88th in average driving distance. He last played the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open where he placed 15th. Prior to that he placed 14th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and tenth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He hasn’t played this event prior.

Oihan Guillamoundeguy (+15000)

This is arguably the HotelPlanner advancer that I am most excited about. He last played the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open where he placed ninth. Prior to that he placed 46th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. He is currently first on Tour in par-four average scoring, second in birdie-or-better percentage, ninth in sand saves percentage, 22nd in average driving distance, 30th in SG: TTG, 33rd in SG: PUTT, 38th in bogey avoidance and 99th in SG: APP. He’ll be making his tournament debut this week.

2025 Betting Card

• Patrick Reed (+1600) - T60th

• Julien Guerrier (+4000) - T21st

• Ugo Coussaud (+6500) - MC

• Scott Jamieson (+8000) - T18th

• Ricardo Gouveia (+17000) - T21st

2024 Betting Card

• Yannik Paul (+1800) - T35th

• Zander Lombard (+2200) - T2nd

• Frederic LaCroix (+4500) - T4th

• Darius Van Driel (+15000) - T29th