Jaco Van Zyl 30/1 © Kevin Murray
The European Tour moves east after its two week break to China for this week’s Shenzhen International, this will be the second tournament to be played over the Genzon Golf Club which was originally known as the CITIC Green Golf Club and designed by Leung Kwok Kun. The first event to be played here was last year’s China Open.
Opened in 1994 and situated a few miles outside of Shenzhen, the CITIC Green Golf Club used to be part of a botanical garden. The course went through a major re-design that was undertaken by Canadian Neil Haworth and winds its way through a forest and makes good use of Dragon Lake.
Now a 36-hole club with courses named imaginatively as Course A & B! The manicured greens, perfect bunkers, limited membership and 5 star hotel add to the club’s ambition of being one of the most exclusive golf clubs in China, which is a shame for the millions of people in the Shenzhen area who would love to play the game.
Tommy Fleetwood 30/1 © James Kennedy
My tips to win:
Sometimes you wonder if players welcome a break when they are on such a good run of form like Jaco Van Zyl 30/1 – with SportingBet – was on before the European Tour had a two week break. His four Top 15 finishes from his last four starts includes a runners-up and a third place finish which shows great consistency from the South African, so I am sure he will be in the thick of it again this week.
Tommy Fleetwood 30/1 – with BetFred – has a decent record when it comes to playing in China with a runners-up on this track when the China Open was played here, he also has a couple of other Top 25 finishes in the country. It’s been a slow start to the season for the lad from Southport who has had three Top 25 finishes from seven starts, although he has not really challenged in any event. I am sure he will start to peak again soon as there were some positive signs on his last outing at the Trophee Hassan ll.
Alexander Levy 28/1 – with Bet365 – had a win on this track when the China Open was held here last year, which turned out to be the first of two wins for the Frenchman that season. This year things started out okay with a couple of Top 25s but have since taken a bit of a nose dive, but I am sure being back on a track where he not only won but shot a second round 62 that contained eight birdies, one eagle and no bogeys will bring back a lot of positive thoughts.
Andy Sullivan 40/1 © Catherine Kotze-SASPA
My each-way tips:
I think Andy Sullivan 40/1 – with StanJames – must have welcomed having a couple of weeks break after missing the last three cuts, it must have been a brain freeze after starting the season so well with two wins and another Top 5. I am sure the Golf Monthly playing editor will have not only been inspired by The Masters this weekend but would have been working hard on his game to iron out the problems and he should do well on a track he had a Top 10 finish on last year.
Byeong Hun An 50/1 – with Bet365 – started off his first full season on the European Tour with a bang, finishing inside the Top 25 in his first five events. Since then things have not been so great for the South Korean. Like some of my other picks I am sure the two-week break has given Byeong a time to reflect and work hard but also put those last three events into some sort of prospective. I think it’s hard to keep someone – with the type of consistency that An showed last season on the Challenge Tour– down and I believe we will see Byeong challenging this week.
One interested American player on the European Tour watching the Masters this week would have been Peter Uihlein 66/1 – with Ladbrokes – who was on the same losing Walker Cup team as Jordan Spieth in 2011. How their careers have gone in different directions since then. It also makes me think we may see an invigorated Uihlein this week and at these odds that has to be a good thing for us punters.
For a full updated list of betting odds during the tournament go to planetgolfreview.com
