Betfair.net

Each of the previous three Dubai Desert Classics have seen a hotly-touted star of the future spend the weekend bang in contention against some of the biggest names in the world of golf. Last year, Rory McIlroy won his breakthrough title; in 2008 Martin Kaymer was only beaten by Tiger Woods; and 2007 saw Ross Fisher show everyone his potential by tying Woods for fifth place. It seems apparent that inexperience is no great handicap around the Emirates Course.

The question this week is whether or not Danny Willett will be able to become as good as that trio. The answer is very possibly, even if it's still too early to tell for sure. He certainly is well up to winning a European Tour event in this, his second full season on the Race to Dubai. His first was most encouraging, with eight top-tens a fine return for a rookie, and he's already bagged a fourth place in 2010 at the Joburg Open.

Willett's results so far can be characterized by two notable features. Firstly, he thrives on low-scoring courses where driving distance and par-five performance are pivotal. Full marks on that score then for his course debut. Secondly, he has tended to throw in too many disaster holes, as is often the case with young players without too much experience who have yet to master the art of consolidation.

That second point might be a cause for concern should a winning chance present itself, but it's definitely not enough to put me off jumping on odds of 140.0 (+13900) under what appear to be ideal conditions.