A lot of nervy golfers will head to Hong Kong for the final event of the European Tour season prior to the Final Series which begins next week.
For those already comfortably inside the top 110 rankings this is a relaxing week with the chance to bank some cash and build their confidence. For those outside that number it is do or die as they need to get in the top 110 or face the prospect of losing their Tour card.
Despite the Final Series beginning next week a really good field has been put together this week, boosted on Tuesday by the news that Ian Poulter has replaced Rich Beem in order for him to maintain his membership.
Along with Poulter, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Graeme McDowell add big names to the field for what should be another decent week of golf.
The Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling is the venue for this tournament once again. It plays to a par of 70 but measuring 6,699 yards it really isn’t the longest course. There are two par 5s on the course which are both reachable and some dogleg par 4s but nobody is at an advantage length wise.
If you looked at last year’s result here you could be forgiven for thinking this is a bombers paradise but it isn’t. It is a tight, treelined course with tiny greens and penal rough so accuracy is going to be paramount this week.
This course looks to mirror the likes of Wentworth, Crans-sur-Sierre and potentially even more recently Woburn in set up and look so those who go well there should in theory go well here.
Justin Rose is a former winner at Woburn so a clear case can be made for him being a worthy favourite here. He is the 6/1 favourite ahead of 9/1 shot Dustin Johnson. Recent Woburn champion Matthew Fitzpatrick is a 16/1 shot this week with Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter both 20/1. It is 22/1 bar those.
I don’t usually give special words to those I’m not taking in a field but given how close I was to taking Anirban Lahiri and Miguel Angel Jimenez this week I probably should. Anyone who has followed me before this blog knows how big a fan of Lahiri I am and his short game should serve him well this week but I suspect he might not hit enough fairways. Jimenez is a course specialist but his form is not at tip top at the minute so I’m going to favour another who enjoys it here.
Thongchai Jaidee loves it around here. He hasn’t played the tournament for the last two years for one reason or another but in the last eight times he has teed it up he has finished no worse than 19th. 2012 was the last time the Thai played here but he is probably an even better player now than then and a regular challenger on the European Tour these days.
Jaidee should have won in Thailand earlier in the season but his challenge derailed when his caddie gave him the wrong yardage on a key hole down the stretch but he has shrugged that off to chase Byeong-Hun An in defeat at the BMW PGA Championship – a crucial form guide this week, and to win the Porsche European Open last time out in Europe.
A dodgy Presidents Cup will have given Jaidee plenty of fire in the belly this week and after a solid return to strokeplay in Macau last week I think he is primed for a first win at Fanling this week.
A man I’ve had on my radar for the right week for a couple of weeks is Marcus Fraser and hopefully this is the week. Encouragingly he went really well at Woburn a couple of weeks ago which should bode well for him this week but perhaps the better form guide is his third placed finish in the Indian Open.
That course was treelined like this one and being in Asia the grasses will be similar which is encouraging. Fraser hits plenty of fairways and should score well this week. He has good finishes at Wentworth and Crans in the past which gives me further encouragement. He led the field after three rounds here last year and is coming back into form again so I’ll take him to go well here.
At Woburn a couple of weeks ago I took Wade Ormsby to have a good week and for the first 45 or so holes he did exactly that. He found the weekend a little hot to handle but he wasn’t the only one so I’m happy to go back for more where the Australian is concerned here.
Ormsby was in the top 10 here in 2013 and looks to be playing arguably better than that now. He hits a number of fairways and if his iron game is up to the usual standards he should be finding plenty of these greens and that is a combination which should see him prosper around here. He’s worth a chance at the prices.
Thai golf is really going great guns at the minute with Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat leading the way and the likes of Prom Meesawat and Prayad Marksaeng forging good careers for themselves but the next man off the conveyor belt is in decent form and is worth a chance this week.
That man is the 20 year old Jazz Janewattananond. The Thai went well in Macau last week to confirm his form is good and in the European Tour sanctioned events he has played this year he stats really well.
He sits sixth in fairways hit and third in scrambling which are big things this week and while the measured rounds aren’t as many as some around him that says he has a game that suits this course. At a decent price I’m happy to pay to see how close he gets.
Back T.Jaidee to win Hong Kong Open (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 26.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-5)
Back M.Fraser to win Hong Kong Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Coral (1/4 1-5)
Back W.Ormsby to win Hong Kong Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back J.Janewattananond to win Hong Kong Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 91.00 with Stan James (1/4 1-5)
