The PGA Tour leaves America to head to Asia this week for the CIMB Classic, the second event of the new season. After an exciting tournament in California last week there is a star studded field looking to gain an early boost in the FedEx Cup standings with a big week out in Malaysia.
The field is capped at just 78 players this week so there is no cut and with those at the top of the game using this tournament to hone their game and acclimatise to conditions ahead of next week’s WGC event there is a wide open feel to the competition.
Recent Winners
2015 – Justin Thomas
2014 – Ryan Moore
2013 – Ryan Moore
The Course
The TPC Kuala Lumpur, previously known as the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s West Course, is once again the host this week as it has been ever since the event became an official PGA tournament three years ago. The course previously held the Malaysian Open on the European Tour so it is used to staging golf tournaments.
The course itself is an undulating one which measures 7,005 yards and plays to a par of 72. That in itself highlights that length isn’t important but making birdies is especially on the par 5s. With the humid conditions this is likely to turn into a shootout so hitting greens and holing putts is the way forward here. I don’t think accuracy off the tee is much of a factor apart from avoiding the water of course.
The Field
We’ve got a decent little field here considering it is only the second week of the season. Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed is in the field as is his teammate Ryan Moore, the two time winner of this event.
Other star names in the field include Adam Scott, Paul Casey, last week’s winner Brendan Steele, defending champion Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace so credit to the organisers for attracting such a quality field.
Market Leaders
We have three favourites this week. They are Patrick Reed, Paul Casey and Hideki Matsuyama. I’m surprised Reed isn’t a sole favourite here and a great deal shorter than he is. His Ryder Cup was stunning and he’s had a couple of weeks to recharge the batteries and go again here.
Paul Casey is a justified 14/1 shot given his recent record but anyone taking that has to be concerned that he couldn’t get over the line in a weaker field last week so what guarantees are there that he’ll do it this week?
Hideki Matsuyama can win golf tournaments. In fact he won one in Japan last week so he’ll be heading into the tournament with plenty of form and confidence behind him and perhaps more importantly he won’t have had to trek half way across the world to play in this event. Those could be factors which see him go well here.
Adam Scott is a 16/1 chance alongside Ryan Moore. Scott arguably should have won this tournament last year but couldn’t get over the line although he did little wrong in defeat. Ryan Moore has won this twice and is in great form and is a huge danger. It is 18/1 bar those named.
Main Bets
I’m going to allow myself the luxury of three main bets this week. The first is the obvious one and I make no apologies for siding with what is obvious. That is of course Ryan Moore. He has won this tournament twice in the past but it is hard to argue he has ever been playing as well as he currently is.
In the last two months he has won the John Deere Classic, finished as a runner up in the Tour Championship and starred in the Ryder Cup so he should be heading to Malaysia full of confidence. We know he knows how to get around this golf course and we know he’s hitting the ball better than ever. He should go very close to a third title.
Rafa Cabrera Bello is a man I’ve respected for a long while with a wonderful golf swing and all the tools to really do some damage but he has sometimes lacked the fortitude to get things done on a Sunday which has put me off backing him but I think the Ryder Cup will have really helped him with that. He knows he belongs on these sorts of stages now and he should kick on from that.
RCB drives the ball an absolute dream and we saw at the Ryder Cup that he has an excellent short game. He makes a lot of birdies but he can scramble when he needs to as well. I’m expecting a big 12 months from the Spaniard now and that can begin here on a course he has two top five finishes on in the European Tour.
Finally I’m going with the man who won on the European Tour here last year in Anirban Lahiri. Anyone who knows me and who has read my previews through the years will know I’m a huge fan of this guy and if I can’t back him on a course he’s already won on less than a week after he finished a tournament in Macao with seven straight birdies then I can never back him!
Admittedly Lahiri lost the playoff in that tournament on Sunday but that was a decent event for Asia and of course he has the benefit of now having had to travel halfway around the world for this tournament which could be a big thing. Lahiri has the game for this track as he showed last year when he nailed Wiesberger late on. At 55/1 I can’t ignore him.
Outsiders
I’ll go with a couple of outsiders this week too. I say outsiders and in terms of the 66/1 price Si Woo Kim is an outsider but with a win on the PGA Tour to his name last season and a runner up as well he is only a slight outsider if he is one at all.
Kim comes into this event off the back of a decent run in an Asian tournament recently so we know he has kept his form up and in these conditions you would think he would have a bit of an advantage on the rest, especially those here for the first time or those who have travelled the globe to get here. At 66/1 he’s worth an investment.
The win of Marcus Fraser in Malaysia on the European Tour this year might not have been around this course but at least the atmospheric conditions don’t do him any harm and he could just have the right game for here. We saw in events like the Olympics and WGC Cadillac that he has low rounds in him and if a return to Malaysia inspires him to play his best he could easily outperform pretty crazy odds of 150/1.
Tips
Back R.Moore to win CIMB Classic (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 17.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back R.Cabrera Bello to win CIMB Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back S.Woo Kim to win CIMB Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back M.Fraser to win CIMB Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
PLACED – Back A.Lahiri to win CIMB Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 56.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016
