The PGA Tour embarks on new territory this week when it stages a tournament in Korea for the first time as the inaugural CJ Cup takes place in Mount Halla. The tournament follows hot off the heels of a trip to Malaysia last week as the Tour looks to build up a following in Asia.
Despite the latest WGC event taking place next week a pretty decent field has made its way to Korea for the 78 man, no cut event in which everyone who tees it is up is guaranteed prize money and a shot at the $1.6 million first prize.
The Course
Nine Bridges Colf Club will be the venue for this first tournament. It is a par 72 which measures just 7,196 yards and having been completely soaked by rain in recent times the course is going to be there for the taking for some of the best players in the world who happen to be teeing it up here.
The course does sit around 3,500 feet above sea level though so distance control will be important especially with plenty of strategically placed bunkers and water hazards ready to take any shots that are wayward. Clean ball striking and good putting look to be the order of the day this week.
The Field
Justin Thomas headlined the field last week and he does so this week although he isn’t alone in that regard here. Jason Day and Marc Leishman both make up strong opponents to Thomas as does Paul Casey. Last week’s winner Pat Perez is here too looking for a quick double of wins.
Some of the pick of the Asian brigade such as Anirban Lahiri and Byeong Hun An are here while Adam Scott, Patrick Reed and Daniel Berger bring genuine star quality to proceedings. The likes of Ian Poulter and Rafa Cabrera Bello join Casey in leading the European charge.
Market Leaders
Justin Thomas is a 15/2 favourite to win the title but we saw him look a little jaded last week and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him conserve his energy for next week. That said he is clearly the standout in the field although at the price you would need him to win to make any significant money from him.
Paul Casey is the second favourite this week. He is a 12/1 poke to win the tournament. He keeps on knocking on the door but that is a mighty short price to be taking about someone who hasn’t won in ages. Jason Day probably offers better value at 14/1 if his eyes are on this week and not next. That would be a concern.
Xander Schauffele is in the form of his life right now and will be popular at 20/1 after his Tour Championship win and his decent run in Malaysia last week. Tony Finau is another one who will attract attention given his good form and he is only slightly bigger at 22/1. Marc Leishman is 22/1 and it is 30/1 bar.
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Main Bets
I’ll go with two main bets this week. The first is Adam Scott who I would imagine is quite keen to get back in the winner’s circle after letting a solid start to last season slip away. The birth of his child was undoubtedly one reason for that but even so he will feel that he should be right up at the top of the game. Very few in the world strike the ball like Scott does and he’s played enough in Asia to know about conditions and how to deal with them. He’s excellent in the wind so 30/1 for him to bag and early title looks good to me.
The other main bet this week is Byeong Hun An. I took him in Italy last week and while he finished just outside of a place he reminded us that he is such a good driver of the ball which will set him up for plenty of birdies around here. He will not lack for motivation this week in front of his home crowds and will likely see this as a chance to steal a march on the rest of the Tour. He’s swinging it well and I expect a big run from him.
Outsiders
A couple of men who make plenty of birdies and who have shown in the past that they can play in the wind are big prices this week. The first of those is Jhonattan Vegas who I’m expecting a decent season from. With top 15s in Mexico and Houston he showed he can handle the wind and we know he makes birdies galore. Vegas got a taste of big time golf in the Presidents Cup and I would imagine that will have inspired him for more of that. To get there he needs to take advantage of weeks like this and at 125/1 he can do just that.
Scott Brown has an excellent record in Puerto Rico where the wind blows regularly and his past results in places like Mexico show that is no fluke. He might benefit from the wind blowing this week. He makes plenty of birdies and if he can stay out of the trouble this week then we might get a decent run from him in a tournament where many of the big names may have eyes on other things.
Tips
Back A.Scott to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
PLACED – Back S.Brown to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
Back B.H-An to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Betbright (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back J.Vegas to win CJ Cup (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
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Good Luck with Scott Brown in the early hours Kev. An not out of it either.
Cheers mate. I’d like to think I’m due but Justin Thomas might have other ideas!
As it happened he did. Unlucky Kev. A lot of your recent selections where all challenging this week, very unlucky with Luiten in Spain.