Who to back at the Hong Kong Open
Hong Kong Open betting: Steve’s top tips
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (25/1)has got to win one of these, hasn’t he?
The Thai continued his admirable form of recent weeks with a runners-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship.
That was his fifth top 20 in seven weeks and his sixth top 10 of the season. Even when he’s faded, Aphibarnrat has usually challenged at some point in the tournament so the odds seem too big.
His record at the Hong Kong Open is hardly stellar – two missed cuts in three appearances – but I’m hoping current, rather than course, form will get us over the line in Fanling.
For those craving a player towards the top of the odds table, then Sergio Garcia (13/2) may be your man.
Justin Rose is the player with the form in Hong Kong – he won here in 2015 – but blowing the victory and the Race to Dubai in such fashion last week has surely got to leave a mark.
Garcia, meanwhile, travelled to the Far East with the warm glow of a final round 65 in Dubai upon which to look back.
His last two European Tour results read first and tied-fourth. You’d like to think the Fanling course, which requires accuracy both from the tee and with approaches, would suit him down to the ground.
Continuing with the Spaniards, I may also shove a pound Rafa Cabrera-Bello’s way as well.
Runner-up 12 months ago, Cabrera-Bello finished just outside the top 20 last week. But you don’t need to go too far back to find some really solid form.
The Scottish Open winner posted a top five in Shanghai at the WGC-HSBC Champions and posted reasonable back-to-back displays in two PGA Tour wrap-around events.
Hong Kong Open betting: Steve’s each-way tips
Given the nature of the Fanling layout, I’m looking for players with good course knowledge if I’m going to be wading down the bookies’ list into the bigger prices.
Marcus Fraser (70/1) fits the bill nicely. Third in 2012, he was fifth two years later and tenth 12 months ago. In fact, he has posted five top 5s in nine visits and has an average score of just over 68.
In 36 rounds, 28 have been in the 60s. Fifth in the Italian Open in October, he looks primed for another strong showing at the odds.
In a similar vein, Angelo Que (150/1) may also be worth a small investment.
The Asian Tour player enjoyed his best form earlier in the campaign but, if you take out last year’s missed cut, he’s finished 13th, second and fifth in his previous three appearances at the Hong Kong Open.
At the price, that makes me sit up and notice.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
