Fantasy Golf Predictions
European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – 2017 UBS Hong Kong Open
2017 UBS Hong Kong Open Fantasy Preview
It may only be November, but the 2018 European Tour season starts right here in Hong Kong this week.
It’s an event which does have that ‘end of term’ feel about it, despite its scheduling, and you would be forgiven for thinking that the top three players here must be wishing they hadn’t signed up to play many months ago.
Tommy Fleetwood has just been crowned Race to Dubai champion for 2017, and after weeks of globe-trotting he must be desperate to get home and spend some time with his new-born son.
Tommy Fleetwood of England poses with the Race to Dubai trophy during…
Tommy Fleetwood of England poses with the Race to Dubai trophy during the final round of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 19, 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Justin Rose, the Hong Kong Open champion in 2015, would presumably love some time off after failing to capitalize on a strong position in Dubai last week to wrench the R2D title from Fleetwood.
And Sergio Garcia, after his best year in golf following triumphs at the Masters and his home Valderrama Masters, would surely love to be celebrating Thanksgiving for the first time with his pregnant American wife Angela.
So we might insinuate that this year’s Hong Kong Open is a wide open race, and it proved to be so last year when 500/1 jolly Sam Brazel defied his world ranking of 480 to take the title from Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who led by three strokes at the 36-hole mark and was five clear of the group at T3.
Our host venue is Fanling, a supremely short (6,700 yard, Par 70) and tight stretch that is tree-lined and wickedly dog-legged in places. It is the true plodders course, with strategic management key, and it is no surprise to learn that former champions here include Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter, and Miguel Angel-Jimenez, who incredibly has taken the spoils on four occasions!
It is perhaps more surprising to see the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scott Hend win on a tight set-up, but both ranked very highly for GIR and made putts, which is essential in a winning run here. Any prospective champion will need to scramble well too, with missed fairways almost a certainty.
Instinctively we might be leaning towards an Asian Tour member or two, given their experience in this part of the world, but actually the last two renewals have been dominated by European and traveling PGA TOUR pros.
Instead, look for some interesting course correlations. Jimenez offers up our best angles, given that he has also won at the tree-lined Wentworth and Crans-sur-Sierre, the hosts of the BMW PGA Championship and European Masters respectively. Even Hend has performed well at both venues, with Colin Montgomerie winning at all three.
So who gets the nod and makes our draft this week?
This Week’s UBS Hong Kong Open Fantasy Picks & Predictions
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