The Asian tour enters its penultimate event this week before the Order or Merit champion is crowed. After a few last-minute withdrawals 129 golfers will tee it up looking to gain more money points on the end of season leader board. This week will be the 1st tournament since the tours restart that isn’t in Thailand, with Singapore hosting the last two events of the season. The Singapore International is a brand-new event on the tour which was added to increase the events on Covid hit season which currently spans over 3 years 2020,2021 & 2022. Everything is still to play for this week with just over 130,000 USD between 1st & 10th in the Order of Merit with one win enough to advance even the lower ranked players up the leader board
Course Guide
The Singapore international takes place at Tanah Merah Country Club on the Tampines Course which is adjacent to the airport & only 15minutes away from the iconic Marina Sands hotel.
The Course was opened in 1988 but in 2017 it was redesigned by Phil Jacobs. Par 72 makes up the scorecard with 4 par 3s,10 par 4s & 4 par 5s. The course this week is a monster at 7533 yards with the longest holes being the 5th at 635 yards & 18th at 626 yards. Water is in play on 12 of the 18 holes which keeps being a regular occurrence on the Asian tour so again accuracy off the tee will be key this week. Players will want to keep their balls in play off the tee. The ability to be able to get the pace of greens will also be vital with the huge greens on this course. Being able to hit the perfect lag putt when out of position will be very beneficial. There should be plenty of drama down the last hole with the guys in contention. A par 5 with water in play could be the decision maker when it comes to determining the winner. Who will be able to keep their nerve the best on Sunday afternoon?
@Golftipster5 Selections:
Wade Ormsby 28-1 5 places
The current order of merit leader will look to cement his place at the top this week with another good week before next week’s finale. After winning in early 2020 at the Hong Kong open Wade had two more top 10s before covid struck, since golfs restart he has been playing on the DP World tour & has only managed just one top 10. However, since the Asian tour restart, he has had a T23 & T14 finish which should inject some much-needed confidence going into this week. Even without the high finishes on the DP Tour Wade was still ranked as one of the best drivers on tour hitting 65% of fairways which ranked him 7th best. His accuracy has always been one of his best assets never ranking below 20th in the last 5 years on the DP world tour. ese development tour so far in his career.
Jeong Woo Ham 33-1 5 places
Jeong is a two-time winner on the Korea tour most recently just 4 starts ago in the KJ Choi invitational. He finished 5th in the money list on the Korea tour in 2021 having played in all 17 events. To go with the win, he has 5 more top 10 finishes & just 3 missed cuts. The 27-year-old hit 65% of fairways & 70% of greens in regulation last season which will be required this week to stay out of the water. This week will be his debut on the Asia tour having only played on the Korea tour & Japan
Yoseop Seo 45-1 5 places
One of my players to watch from my 2022 preview. He was a 2-time winner on the Korea tour last season. He finished 2nd on the money list so I was quite surprised when I saw he was a lot higher in the betting that fellow countryman Jeong Woo Ham. The world no 297 is another very accurate player off the tee hitting just under 65% of fairways & over 70% greens in regulation. Seo is currently 50th on the order of merit so will want a good week to climb the leader board going into the final event of the season next week.
Udayan Mane 125-1 5 Places
Mane won the season ending event in India to claim the order of merit title. He won four times over the 2020 – 21 season with four more top 10s in seventeen starts. Incredible form. He didn’t quite manage to bring that form over to the Asian tour at the back end of the year with a MC & T68 finish, but he won on his next start back in India. Hopefully this boost of confidence will bring his A game to the Singapore International. A win this week could put him right in the mix for the order of merit title.
Chen Guxin 1000-1 5 places
If you look at Chens form last season on the China tour you do have to wonder, why he is the price he is. He won twice with two 3rd place finishes & only missed one cut. The 18-year-old for me at that price even in a higher quality field is just a no brainer. There are far worse bets to be made. He is currently the 5th best ranked Chinese player in the world ahead of Haotong Li who he only finished 2 shots back on in his latest start at the Volvo China Open. He turned pro in 2020 after a Stella amateur career where he racked up over 10 wins & many more stop 10s. A player to keep watch for in the coming years.
Good Luck with all Bets
@golftipster5