WGC-HSBC Champions betting tips and preview
Venue: Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China
Date: October 25-28, 2018
Course stats: Par 72, 7,261 yards
Purse: $10 million (£7.7m)
Defending champion: Justin Rose (-14)
TV coverage
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf – from 3am
Friday: Sky Sports Golf – from 3am
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf – from 4am
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf – from 4am
WGC-HSBC Champions preview
Justin Rose clawed his way from eight shots back to topple Dustin Johnson at Sheshan International last year, and the duo have been installed as joint favourites to win this year’s renewal, in what is the final WGC event of the calendar year.
Brooks Koepka, the new World No. 1 after last week’s CJ Cup win, and Rory McIlroy are also here in China – Justin Thomas is the only player inside of the world’s top-five that isn’t present.
“Well-placed bunkers throughout the golf course along with deep collection areas, and beautiful water features, and undulating greens, provide a beautiful and challenging golf course for all, including Tour Professionals in the world,” is the description taken from the course’s website.
Given the winners here over the years, from the likes of bombers Johnson and Bubba Watson, to the more accurate sorts such as Russell Knox, Francesco Molinari and David Howell, that looks an accurate assessment of this fairly standard par-72 layout, just 30km west of Shanghai.
WGC-HSBC Champions betting tips
Matthew Fitzpatrick (60/1, 6 places) gets the headline vote as he bids to claim his sixth professional title.
It’s easy to forget that the former US Amateur champion is only 24 years old. Ever since he got his full-time European Tour card in 2015, he has won five times, and at least once every single year.
Yet the 24-year-old has so often struggled in the big events, namely the majors and indeed the WGC events – apart from this one, the HSBC Champions.
For one reason or another, Fitzpatrick has found it difficult to perform on US soil among the top fields, but this WGC event in China has provided a comfort level for the Englishman, perhaps because of the European Tour’s tendency to visit Asian countries. Indeed, the European Tour players have often found this slightly easier than the PGA Tour players. Five of the last eight winners here in China have held European Tour status.
And Fitzpatrick has a very good record in this event, and indeed in this part of the world. He hasn’t finished outside of the top-16 in his three appearances here, and he has finished inside of the top-20 in all but one of his eight starts in China.
Fitzpatrick is our tipsters top pick for glory in China, but who is he backing as outsiders. Find out where you can make some profit on the next page…
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
