PREVIEW: 2024 DP World Tour – Porsche Singapore Classic

20243/2024 DP World Tour
Porsche Singapore Classic
Classic Course, Laguna National Golf and Country Club, Singapore
21 – 24th March

The DP World Tour returns to action after a one-week hiatus following the conclusion of the International Swing. It was a significant week in the golfing world, with Scottie Scheffler cementing his World No.1 status by becoming the first man to ever successfully defend the Players Championship.

He is looking like a true behemoth as we head towards Augusta National. But let’s focus on slightly less illustrious concerns. The DP World Tour returns for the first event of the Asian Swing: the Porsche Singapore Classic.

The Porsche Singapore Classic

The event made its debut last year and Ockie Strydom came from well off the pace to pick up the 2nd DP World Tour event of his career. The event will once again be staged at Laguna National Golf and Country Club. This was the host venue for the Singapore Masters between 2002 and 2007 (it also hosted the Ballantine’s Championship between 2008 and 2014).

The Classic Course- Laguna National Golf and Country Club

But those two events were hosted on the Masters Course and this event will once again be played on the Classic Course- affectionately known as the Beast. It is widely considered one of the toughest tests on the Asian continent (though Ockie Strydom romped home to victory in 19-under-par last year).

It measures over 7 400 yards and features at least 146 bunkers. The undulating putting surfaces are reminiscent of Augusta and there are five water features on the course. Players with prodigious length and silky 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 played on a different course altogether, but it does suggest that experience in these humid conditions could be critical to success this week.

The Contenders

There are actually a couple of heavy hitters out there this week. Shane Lowry has been in terrific form Stateside and he makes a very logical favourite in this field. He has a magical short game that should come in handy around these tricky greens.

Matthieu Pavon was in inspired form on the PGA Tour earlier this year, winning at Torrey Pines and finishing just two shots behind Wyndham Clark at Pebble Beach. Rasmus Hojgaard feels like he is on the precipice of becoming an elite European talent and 46-year-old Englishman Paul Casey has been in terrific form on the LIV Golf tour. This should prove to be a fairly enjoyable and picturesque watch.

Past Winner

2023: Ockie Strydom

To Win Outright:

Shane Lowry 10/1 | Matthieu Pavon 14/1 | Rasmus Hojgaard 16/1 | Paul Casey 18/1 | Tom McKibben 22/1

Value Bets

Rikuya Hoshino- To Win 50/1 | To Place 11/1

Japanese player Rikuya Hoshino has been one of the breakout stars of this year’s DP World Tour. He was a runner-up at both the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and the ISPS Handa Australian Open before Christmas. He followed that up by winning a maiden DP World Tour title at the Qatar Masters. He was cut at Glendower but he should feel far more at home back on the Asian continent.

Matthew Jordan- To Win 55/1 | To Place 12/1

Matthew Jordan looks like he could be slightly undervalued this week. The Englishman has struggled for consistency throughout his career but there have been some positive signs of late. He has looked far more precise from the tee box while his short game remains solid (which could prove critical this week). He shot an opening 74 at the Magical Kenya Open last time out. But he then proceeded to surge through the field, finishing in a tie for fourth. He also has two previous top-five finishes at the Qatar Masters (there were two previous Qatar winners in the top five here last season).

The Man to Beat- Paul Casey- To Win 18/1 | To Place 39/10

It’s crazy to think that Paul Casey is currently ranked 832nd in the world. All the LIV guys knew that this could be a consequence of their decision and I don’t really share too much sympathy for them (they have been richly renumerated). Victory here wouldn’t move the needle too much for Casey in the immediate future (he won’t get an invite to this year’s Masters). But it could gain him some momentum in his quest to potentially play in future Major championships. He has been in terrific form in LIV, finishing fifth at LIV Las Vegas and losing in a play-off at LIV Hong Kong. He ranked first in GIR and second for Scrambling at Fanling and he should be perfectly suited to this test. He has also played well in the region, winning in Korea and China and crucially finishing runner-up at Sentosa golf club in Singapore.