WGC-HSBC Champions golf at Sheshan International Golf Club

Held at Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament is now in it`s tenth year and it`s an important event in terms of the race to Dubai rankings list, even though Rory McIlroy has clear daylight between himself and the rest of the field. With this in mind, McIlroy has opted to sit out the event this year. The WGC-HSBC Champions tournament has always been held at the Sheshan International since 2005 other than on one occasion, when it was played at Mission Hills, Shenzhen in 2012, an event won by Ian Poulter. In fact, this was Poulter`s last win on the European Tour, having not finished at the top of the leaderboard in any European Tour event since and he claimed the title with a round of 21 under par.

Poulter followed that up by finishing second in 2013 when the event returned to the Sheshan International and will be confident of ending his wait for another tour victory this time around. Still regarded as a long shot, Poulter has done well at this tournament for the previous two years and the 70/1 on offer at stanjames could be a good each-way shout.

The course has proven over the years that it does not suit one playing style or player in particular with a mix golfing names having won the event. One thing that it is a recurring theme however is the scoring, every year the scores have been very low, with an average winning score of 17 under par since 2005. In addition to this, all the previous winners have either won a major or participated in the Ryder Cup and they include Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer, Francesco Molinari, Phil Mickelson (twice), Sergio Garcia, YE Yang and David Howell.

Good putting has also played a factor in who comes out on top at Sheshan, with previous winners, Molinari, Kaymer and Johnson all finishing in the top 4 for putts per GIR. Lee Westwood is currently sitting in fourth place for putts per GIR on the European Tour in 2014 and has also managed four top 15 finishes at Sheshan since 2008, including two second placed finishes. Add to this the fact that the Englishman has finished T12 and T13 in his last two events and the 50/1 available at BetVictor for Westwood to win the WGC-HSBC Championship becomes a very tempting each-way bet.

Other players to look out for include the in form Jamie Donaldson, who is currently sitting second in the race to Dubai rankings. Donaldson has carded nine top 8 finishes in his last 9 tournaments in China and is also looking good on the greens, making the Welshman another good each-way bet at 28/1 with bet365. Looking towards the top of the list and Justin Rose is available at 12/1, also with bet365 and is rightly considered the favourite for this event, having been the top points scorer at the Ryder Cup and posting finishes of 7th and 5th in his last two attempts at Sheshan. Rose`s Ryder Cup team mate, Sergio Garcia, also has a strong previous record at Sheshan, winning in 2009 and finishing 4th in 2013. Garcia also finished in 2nd place in last weeks CIMB Classic and is on offer at 16/1 with SkyBet to go one better this week and win the 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions tournament

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04/11/2014     © Frixo 2024