After a brief sojourn to Africa last week, the European Tour and the Asian Tour team up this week to put on the Maybank Championship, another tournament that is suffering a little due to the schedule change across the pond.
This was once a popular stop off for many of the leading lights on the European Tour but with the big prizes out in America at the minute the majority of them are out there, leaving a competitive if slightly weaker than normal field for Shubhankar Sharma to defend his title against.
Recent Winners
2016 – Marcus Fraser
2017 – Fabrizio Zanotti
2018 – Shubhankar Sharma
The Course
The tournament is back at the Saujana Golf and Country Club for the third time. This track has previously hosted many stagings of the now defunct Malaysian Open so the veterans on the circuit will be used to the test at hand.
That test is a par 72 which measures 7,135 yards. It is a treelined track with tight fairways and very tiny greens so scrambling is a big thing this week. The course is full of undulations so ball striking is going to be massive with a real premium on accuracy. The climate in this part of the world is extremely humid and that needs to be taken into account with our selections.
The Field
Thomas Pieters is the headliner in the field this week. He really needs a big week if he is going to make it into the bigger tournaments later in the year. Former winners Marcus Fraser and Fabrizio Zanotti are here looking to regain the title while defending champion Shubhankar Sharma is also in the field.
Pieters’ World Cup winning partner Thomas Detry leads the young charge among the Europeans while seasoned campaigners Jorge Campillo and Adrian Otaegui are also in the field. Gaganjeet Bhullar leads the Asian charge, at least as far as the market is concerned. Ryder Cup captains Thomas Bjorn and Padraig Harrington also tee it up.
Market Leaders
As you would expect, Thomas Pieters is the 16/1 favourite this week. He hasn’t won a solo event since 2016 so he immediately becomes an easy one to swerve, even though he is the standout player in the field. I don’t actually think this course suits him anyway so if he wins he wins but he certainly isn’t for me here.
Jorge Campillo comes next in the betting at 20/1 but he has never won a European Tour event in some 200+ attempts so I can’t possibly be backing him to end that streak here. He was the third round leader here last year but couldn’t sustain the pace and although he has threatened on plenty of occasions we would need him to win to get any sort of significant return and he’s too short to rely on to do that.
Fabrizio Zanotti comes third in the betting at 22/1 and he is looking to win around here for the second time in three years having landed the crown in 2017. There is plenty to like about him this week which I will touch on in a short while. He is likely to be a popular runner after nearly landing the title in Oman a few weeks ago.
Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Ryan Fox are the only other two men in the field who are shorter than 28/1. ML-V has gone close on a couple of occasions previously while Fox won in the Super 6 in Perth. You would say this track is not going to suit the Kiwi, although if ever he is going to be inspired to win it could be this week with the events that have gone on back home. Lorenzo-Vera could be a legitimate runner. It is 28/1 bar.
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Main Bets
My first main bet this week is the former winner Fabrizio Zanotti for whom the course looks to set up brilliantly. The Paraguayan is flawless from tee to green when he is on it and he has run hot on a number of treelined tracks as a result. I remember being on Zanotti when he was in behind Matt Fitzpatrick in the first British Masters and since then he has contended on many tree laden tracks, including this one. Zanotti is inside the top 15 on strokes gained from tee to green and is enjoying a good season. He was second in Oman recently when the wind got him and he ran well in Qatar recently. He should be primed for a very strong showing here.
Aaron Rai has already won for me in Asia this season and it makes sense to see if he can do likewise for me again here. Rai won the Hong Kong Open on a track not a million miles too dissimilar to this one. That was treelined with tight fairways and greens and he lapped the field with the exception of Matt Fitzpatrick who is not here this week. Things have gone quiet for the Englishman since then but short and accurate hitters aren’t really suited to the desert part of the European Tour. He can come alive back in Asia though and is a decent price to go in again.
Outsiders
I’m taking two from the country of Thailand to form my outsiders this week. Prom Meesawat was recent fifth in a spin in the Singapore Open earlier in the year and that should have primed him up nicely for a track that should meet his tee to green prowess nicely. The concern over the Thai comes on the greens but he’s a big enough price to back to see if he can get a few to drop here. He clearly did that in Singapore and although that was a couple of months ago he has kept himself fresh since and has the credentials to contend around here.
Thongchai Jaidee has won twice around here when the course hosted the Malaysian Open and while his better days are behind him now he retains the skills to go well on shorter, testing tracks. He has top 20 finishes in Hong Kong and Oman to emphasise that point this season and on a track he knows extremely well it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if the short game wizardry of Jaidee is on the scene deep into the event on Sunday.
Tips
Back F.Zanotti to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 23.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back A.Rai to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back P.Meesawat to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back T.Jaidee to win Maybank Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
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