European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – 2018 Maybank Championship

2018 Maybank Championship Fantasy Preview

After the roaring success of the Desert Swing, the European Tour heads south for a few weeks with this, the Maybank Championship, from Kuala Lumpur.

Haotong Li has barely had enough time to apply the first coat of polish to his Dubai Desert Classic trophy yet, but he will make the trip to Malaysia alongside the likes of Henrik Stenson, Bernd Wiesberger, Alexander Levy and a multitude of Asian talents.

We have been trumpeting Li for quite some time now, but you suspect the nature of last week’s win in the desert may just be the catalyst that sends his career skywards. Firstly, he saw off the challenge of Rory McIlroy in a thrilling head-to-head battle. And secondly it’s his first career title outside of his native China….who knows how many more will follow?

This week’s test, Saujana G&CC, will play rather differently. In a stark contrast to the windy and dusty set up in Dubai, the conditions in Kuala Lumpur are rather more humid and breeze-free. It’s a hot and sticky place to play your golf, and not all will thrive in the heat.

That said, the leaderboard of tis event 12 months ago was packed with traditional European Tour stalwarts, and one of them – David Lipsky – must have thought he was about to claim his second European Tour title when powering ahead on the Sunday.

But Fabrizio Zanotti played the final four holes in -4, including an eagle at the last, to claim his own second title.

With $300,000 up for grabs, this is the biggest prize pool available to European Tour players now until The Masters in April….how’s that for motivation! So who are we drafting to our roster this week? Let’s have a look…

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This Week’s Maybank Championship Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s Maybank Championship Fantasy Picks

Bernd Wiesberger – $10,700 – A winner in China last year, Bernd Wiesberger really ought to have added this trophy to his collection too.

He led at the 36-hole mark 12 months ago after an incredible second round of 63 which featured nine consecutive birdies. But a dismal Saturday ruined his chances of getting his hands on the trophy, even if a Sunday 66 restored some pride.

But when we talk about suitability for a course, well, the Austrian made 25 birdies and an eagle at Saujana last year: evidence in abundance that it suits his eye. And, let’s not forget, his formline in Malaysia now reads 2-2-3.

His results during the Desert Swing were average, but noticeable was his form with the putter: Wiesberger ranked 13th and 15th respectively for Putts per Round in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Paul Peterson – $8,800 – While the big names were hunting the massive pay days in the desert and at Torrey Pines last week, Paul Peterson was fine-tuning his game at the Asian Tour’s Myanmar Open….a tournament he would go on to win.

That was the second senior-level tournament victory for the American, who also captured the Czech Open in the autumn of 2016. Typically, his best performances come on Asian soil – not surprising given he is a graduate of that Tour: note his T2 at the Hong Kong Open in November, as well as a pair of top-fives in Malaysia.

Peterson’s game is all about being neat and tidy around the greens, rather than power play off the tee, so Saujana should suit him nicely.

David Lipsky – $8,000 – Lipsky looked for all the money as if he was going to pick up the trophy here 12 months ago before Zanotti’s swashbuckling finish, but clearly the American can be pleased with his second-place finish on his first look at Saujana.

After a fine college career in the United States, Lipsky made the surprise decision to move to the Asian Tour rather than try his hand in the US, and it is events like this where that choice could pay dividends. He has a catalogue of top-five finishes on Asian soil, and of course is a former champion of the European Masters.

The American heads to Malaysia on the back of a T6 return at the Dubai Desert Classic, and ranking seventh and twelfth for Scrambling and Putts per Round in 2018 there can be no doubt that Lipsky’s game suits these parts.

Poom Saksansin – $7,500 – Here’s a fine young talent that has caught the eye in the past 12 months or so.

Saksansin has two wins on the Asian Tour, with his most recent being a fine wire-to-wire effort at the TAKE Solutions Masters in 2017.

He led the CIMB Classic in Malaysia after the first round – don’t forget, that’s a co-sanctioned event with the PGA TOUR, and if his burgeoning potential wasn’t shown enough there just look at his performances at the President’s Cup: he teamed up with Sung Kang to beat Henrik Stenson and Alex Levy in the four-balls, before defeating Paul Casey in the singles. What a confidence boost that must have been!

Asia is a hot-bed for breeding outstanding new talent, and Saksansin might just be the next off the conveyor belt.

Gavin Green – $7,200 – Gamers can bag an absolute bargain this week in the form of Gavin Green.

Quite why DraftKings are ‘disrespecting’ the 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, and Malaysian looking to impress on home soil, is anybody’s guess, but we’re more than happy to get behind a player who won his first tour-level event in 2017 and backed it up with four other top-10s.

He perhaps hasn’t shown his best form in European Tour events as yet, but a second-place finish in last season’s Indian Open at least gives a glimpse of what he is capable of.

Green won a minor-level event at nearby Glenmarie GC in 2016, and on his return to Asia finished T8 at the Singapore Open a couple of weeks ago.

Sam Brazel – $6,900 – Three rounds in the 60s propelled Sam Brazel to the fringes of the top-20 at the competitive Dubai Desert Classic, and that’s a healthy sign ahead of a return to the Asian soil he loves so dearly.

His sole victory came at the Hong Kong Open back in 2016, and we can add to that T12 at this very venue 12 months ago: the Aussie is one of the very few in this field with good memories of Saujana.

In the grand scheme of things, Australia isn’t a million miles from Kuala Lumpur, and Brazel will feel at home in the heat and humidity.

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Cover photo via Instagram