Fantasy Golf Predictions

Fantasy Golf Predictions – The 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions

Published

12 years ago

October 29, 2013

Fantasy Golf Predictions – The 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions

Fantasy Golf Predictions for the 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions October 31-Nov 3

Tournament Preview

Minus Woods and Adam Scott, this week’s field is as star-studded as you can get. For the second time in as many weeks, the PGA TOUR is hosting a no-cut event in Asia, moving to Shanghai after concluding in Malaysia last week with Ryan Moore’s playoff win over Gary Woodland at the CIMB Classic. With the first round kicking off on Halloween, there’s nothing scarier than a field of elite major, WGC, and FedExCup champions battling it out in a dog fight in Asia this week.

A healthy purse of $8.5 million will be on the line (a big increase from the $7 million in 2012) and players from all over the world will be trying to wrestle the Old Tom Morris Cup away from Ian Pouter who won by a two-stroke victory at Mission Hills in Dongguan, China a year ago.

The winner of this year’s event will also take home 550 FedExCup points, which incidentally is 50 points more than usual for a non-major tournament. If that’s not enough, the winner will also be granted a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR in addition to countless invitations to other big events on the PGA TOUR circuit, including the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship.

The Course

Sheshan International GC (West) measures 7,266 yards and plays as a par 72. Brushed with beautiful 1,000-year-old gingko trees and manmade waterways, this Nelson & Haworth design returns to play host of the WGC-HSBC Champions after the event moved to Mission Hills in 2012. Sheshan International opened its doors in 2004 as Shanghai’s most exclusive golf club, with Tiger Woods once calling the layout “the crowning jewel of all of Asian golf.”

2013 WGC-HSBC Champions

The Weather at 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China (from weather.com)

Round 1: Thursday (Oct 31) 70 degrees, 20% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 2: Friday (Nov 1) 71 degrees, 0% chance of rain, mostly sunny.
Round 3: Saturday (Nov 2) 72 degrees, 10% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 4: Sunday (Nov 3) 71 degrees, 30% chance of rain, few showers.

2012 Results

Ian Poulter charged back from a four-shot deficit, posting a staggering 7-under 65 on the final day to clinch the Old Tom Morris Cup. The win came just month after he added a stroke-play title to his Ryder Cup resume at Medinah for the winning European team. The victory also prevented Poulter from posting only his second winless season since turning pro in in 1995. Meanwhile, Jason Dufner’s closing 64 created a four-way tie for second with Ernie Els, Scott Piecry, and Phil Mickelson (Lefty won this event in 2009).

Notes

Even with the dominant Woods and Scott vacant from the field, the WGC-HSBC Champions has the strongest field of the PGA TOUR’s new fall schedule. The lineup consists of 15 of the top 25 players in golf’s world rankings. That said, don’t be too quick to jump on FedExCup champ Henrik Stenson bandwagon. Although he would normally be a clear favorite here, his status is questionable after he hurt his wrist during an at-home practice session, which has caused some recent swelling. Stenson is scheduled for an MRI which should shed more light on the injury but for now he remains too big of a question mark.

As an additional matter of note, Europeans have claimed the trophy in each of the past three years – Poulter, Martin Kaymer (2011) and Francesco Molinari (2010).

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions

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Justin Rose (Golficity Odds 7/1): This marks Justin’s first start since his solo sixth at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Rose tied for seventh in only appearance at Sheshan International in 2011 but we feel he’s been primed and ready to kick off the new season with a win. All we can say is, look out for J-Rose in China…
Phil Mickelson (Golficity Odds 10/1): Mickelson won on this same course at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in 2009. Lefty is also the all-time earnings leader in the WGC-HSBC and has Top 20s in his last two starts which included his T19 last week at CIMB. Needless to say, he knows the course, he knows the event, and he’s playing lights out. We call that a 1-2-3 punch.
Keegan Bradley (Golficity Odds 14/1): Keegan has top 25s in all seven starts in stroke-play WGC events. He tied for 16th at Sheshan in 2011 and notched a solo 10th at CIMB where he was the 36-hole leader after round 2. Keegan could have a big year moving into 2014. He’s been working hard on his game and he may just grab a win early in the season.
Rory McIlory (Golficity Odds 18/1): Before you roll your eyes, Rory just defeated Tiger Woods in a shootout thanks to his new forgiving Nike Driver and softer Nike Golf Ball. He’s super excited to put 2012-2013 behind him and focus on reliving his dominance of 2012. McIlroy also has three top 5s at Sheshan under his belt. Vegas has him favored at a 12/1 but we’re not that optimistic (yet).
Jordan Spieth (Golficity Odds 22/1): This is Jordan’s World Golf Championships debut. He hasn’t played since the Presidents Cup where he shined pretty nicely, coming off a rookie season for the record books. Spieth ended the 2013 season with a T2 at East Lake, a bunch of top 10s and even a win. We think he can ride that momentum into the start of his sophomore season.

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win

Francesco Molinari (Golficity Odds 45/1): Molinari was a Winner at Sheshan International in 2010 and tied for second at last week’s BMW Masters. Francesco is still a long-shot this week but he knows the course well and has the potential to take the star-studded field by surprise.
Jimmy Walker (Golficity Odds 50/1): Walker could be the only player to play in all of the first four 2013-14 events. More importantly, has no worse than a T12 in his last four starts – finished in solo 6^th last week at the CIMB and won the first event of the fall schedule 3 weeks ago.

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