Maybank Championship betting tips
The details
Venue: Saujana G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date: March 21-24, 2019
Course stats: Par 72, 7,135 yards
Course summary: A former palm oil plantation, the Palm course is one for a patient player – particularly if the mercury is rising. Greens are small and sloping and, while it is far from the longest course, you need to exhibit strong ball striking to get round intact.
Purse: $3 million
Defending champion: Shubhankar Sharma (-21)
Weather forecast: Hot with temperatures regularly hitting 33 and 34 degrees through the week. Thunderstorms are possible on Sunday.
TV coverage
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf and Main Event, 3.30am and 7.30am
Friday: Sky Sports Golf and Main Event, 3.30am and 7.30am
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf, 2.30am; Sky Sports Main Event, 4.15am
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf and Main Event, 2.30am
Maybank Championship betting tips: Each-way betting tips
It hasn’t been the greatest of starts to the season for Shubhankar Sharma, who burst onto the world stage when winning here last year and at the Joburg Open.
With three missed cuts on the card in seven events, his highest finish of this year is tied 29th at the Dubai Desert Classic.
That said, he was runner up in the Indian PGTI Players Championship just over a month ago and so, if conditions suit, he could put together a decent week.
If that happens, you’d like to think it would come at Saujana – where he has finished ninth and a winner in two starts on the course.
You’re taking a little bit of a chance with form being a worry but, at 70/1, it’s one that might be worth doing.
Asian Tour staple Panuphol Pittayarat could also be worth a punt at 150/1 for place hunters. The world no. 209 has been putting together some consistent numbers over the past few weeks on the Asian Tour, including top 10s at the Indonesian Masters and the Singapore Open.
He also made the knockout stages at the World Super 6 in Australia before falling to Kristoffer Reitan in his second match. He has finished ninth and 23 in two Maybank appearances.
You’ve had the each-way shouts, now turn the page to see who Steve reckons might win the Maybank Championship…
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.
