The Desert Swing has ended and so it is back into Asia for the European Tour this week as the Maybank Championship in Malaysia takes place. A different course and a very strong field is the challenge in Malaysia.
Marcus Fraser won the title last year and he is back to defend the title and attempt to see off a very good field for this time of year it has to be said.
Recent Winners
2016 – Marcus Fraser
The Course
A new venue hosts the tournament this week. After a year at Royal Selangor Golf Club we move to the Saujana Golf and Country Club which has hosted the Malaysian Open a few times in the past.
The course is a par 72 which measures 7,186 yards. The feature of the track is the small greens which take some finding and with the fairways of average width this is a tee to green track. Undulations on the greens and the fairways make ball striking hugely important this week.
The Field
Two Green Jacket holders headline the field this week as Charl Schwartzel and Danny Willett tee it up but the supporting cast is very good. Rafa Cabrera Bello is one of Europe’s finest these days and he is in the field while Lee Westwood heads back to a course he has previously won on and in a country he has an excellent record in.
Two winners from the Desert Swing also tee it up this week with Abu Dhabi champion Tommy Fleetwood and Qatar Masters winner Jeunghun Wang both in the field so this will take some winning.
Market Leaders
Rafael Cabrera Bello and Charl Schwartzel are the market leaders this week. They are 12/1 at the time of writing. Cabrera Bello seems to be regularly on the scene without winning which you would probably want him to do if backing him at this price while Schwartzel is making his first start on a main tour this year which isn’t ideal either.
Bernd Wiesberger is next in the betting at 14/1 and you could say the same about him that was said about Cabrera Bello. He looks a little short to me unlike Jeunghun Wang who are 20/1 will be very popular I’m sure.
Former winner around here Lee Westwood is a 20/1 shot and given his amazing record in this part of the world I wouldn’t be too surprised if he proves a popular selection either. It is 25/1 bar those five named players.
Main Bets
I’m going with two main bets this week and the first is a pretty obvious one given that he has won twice on this course in the past. That is Thongchai Jaidee winner of the Malaysia Open here in 2004 and 2005 and that is no surprise as he has a profile which fits this course.
He prefers accuracy over length off the tee and is a wizard with the irons. If he can putt well, and a decent finish in Dubai last week suggests he is doing that, then he is going to go close to completing a hattrick of wins at Saujana.
The other bet is on Thomas Aiken who has really caught fire since ditching the PGA Tour and coming back to Europe. He has three top five finishes in five events this season as well as another top 15 and while he was down in 42nd last week he was one of the late first round starters which wasn’t the place to be.
Aiken is another who favours accuracy over length and who hits a lot of greens and if the conditions and his putter are onside then I’m expecting another excellent finish from the South African.
Outsiders
Although the previous winners here have all been of a top class we’ve seen a few surprise winners already this season so I’m going to throw a dart at one of those as well as a couple of local players.
Graeme Storm has had an incredible three months. He went from being off the tour to getting a reprieve in exceptional circumstances to being a tournament winner and having won the SA Open to kick off 2017, beating Rory McIlroy no less in a playoff, he is basically freewheeling for the rest of this season. He finished the Desert Swing with a couple of good efforts and has been hitting a lot of greens in regulation and 90/1 is a juicy enough price to get involved in here.
Jazz Janewattananond is in the top 10 for greens in regulation on the Asian Tour which should serve him well this week. Admittedly that is a short sample to go by but he did win in Bangladesh last week and there is nothing like winning to boost confidence. He is still young so that win last week will have launched his career and if he can go well this week and bank enough to push for a European card all sorts of doors will open. At 125/1 he’s definitely overpriced and worth a go.
Phachara Khongwatmai caught my eye as one to watch in the Asian events when he finished second in the Singapore Open in a field which included Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia among others recently. Both of those finished behind him and his effort there was enough to stick him in the top 10 for greens in regulation in Asia this season. If he can repeat that performance he’ll have every chance here.
Tips
Back T.Jaidee to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back T.Aiken to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back G.Storm to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 91.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-6)
Back J.Janewattananond to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back them here:
Back P.Khongwatmai to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
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