PREVIEW: 2023 DP World Tour – Singapore Classic

Singapore Classic

The tour moves from the Middle East to South East Asia for the inaugural staging of the Singapore Classic. After almost a decade, the tour returns to picturesque Laguna National.

This was the host venue for the Singapore Masters between 2001 and 2007. It also hosted the Ballantine’s Championship between 2008 and 2014.

While not an elite field, this does present opportunities for players such as Robert Macintyre to enhance their Ryder Cup prospects.

Classic Course at Laguna National

Form guides from the aforementioned events are pretty much redundant this week. Both those events were staged on the Masters Course. This event will be staged at the Classic Course- affectionately known as the Beast.

It is widely considered one of the toughest tests in all of Asia. It measures over 7,400 yards and features at least 146 bunkers. The undulating putting surfaces are almost reminiscent of Augusta and there are five water features on the course.

Players with length and decent scrambling skills should thrive here (just like Augusta). Looking back at the Singapore Masters, four of the six winners of that event were Asian Tour players. I know that was a different course altogether.

It suggests that winning in this area is linked to experience playing in these sticky, humid conditions.

The Contenders

Ryan Fox has been one of the most consistent presences on tour for some time and he makes a logical favourite this week.

In recent weeks, Robert Macintyre has lost some Ryder Cup ground to the likes of Victor Perez and Rasmus Hojgaard. The affable Scot will be looking for a strong week to remain in touching distance of the Ryder Cup places.

Elsewhere, the likes of Adri Arnaus and Adrian Otaegui should suit this course. Let’s just hope that this week can offer a fraction of the drama that we have experienced lately.

To Win Outright:

Ryan Fox 14/1 | Robert Macintyre 14/1 | Jordan Smith 16/1 | Adri Arnaus 20/1 | Alexander Bjork 25/1

Value Bets

Gavin Green- To Win 66/1 | To Place 14/1

Gavin Green is exactly the sort of Asian Tour aficionado who could thrive this week. The Malaysian won in Taiwan on the Asian Tour in 2017. He topped the Asian Tour Order of Merit that year and much of his best DP World Tour golf has come on his home continent. He was second in the 2017 Indian Open and eighth in the 2018 Singapore Open. He also ran into a hot streak towards the end of last year. This started with a runner-up finish in Singapore. He then had second place finishes at the Czech and Portugal Masters. He followed that up with a 7th at the Nedbank Challenge.

Rafa Cabrera Bello- To Win 66/1 | To Place 14/1

I really love the idea of playing an established pro in a field such as this. Four-time DP World Tour winner Rafa Cabrera Bello is a cut above many of the players favoured ahead of him this week. And he also arrives with really decent form under his belt. He finished 10th at the Abu Dhabi Championship and 13th at the Ras Al Khaimah. I don’t think it would take a huge improvement from him to get into the frame this week.

The Man to Beat- Alexander Bjork- To Win 25/1 | To Place 11/2

Ok, Bjork may not be the longest hitter out there. But he finds plenty of greens and is excellent at getting up and down. He is one of the mid-tier European players who should be looking to win when the big boys are away. He has excellent form in Asia (winning the Volvo China Open and finishing second at the Hong Kong Open). He arrives with form figures of 28-16-2. He narrowly missed out on a playoff with Daniel Gavins last week. He could have been forgiven for thinking he needed birdie at the last. He rushed it past and missed the par putt coming back. If only he knew what a mess Gavins would make of the hole, he would have played it far more conservatively.