The LPGA Tour will make its return to Chonburi, Thailand and the Siam Country Club for this week’s Honda LPGA Thailand. The 70-player field will include the top-six ranked golfers in the world on the ladies side led by Lexi Thompson, Sung Hyun Park and Shanshan Feng. Feng is locked in to the top position in the world for the 15th consecutive week while Park, Thompson, Anna Nordqvist and In Gee Chun remain in hot pursuit of that ranking. All of those golfers will compete with the defending champion Amy Yang, who returns to chase another Honda LPGA Thailand victory after winning here last year with a 22-under score. Yang has the talent to win it all again but is just outside of the top-five betting favorites for this event.
Event Details
Event: Honda LPGA Thailand
Category: LPGA
Date: February 21-25th, 2018
Location: Pattaya Old Course, Siam Country Club, Chonburi, Thailand
Thompson and Nordqvist are the other entries in this week’s Honda LPGA Thailand that have won this tournament before. However, Yang in particular has been excellent here winning two of the past three editions of this event. Yang set a tournament record here last year when she finished 22-under for a five-stroke win over her nearest competition. Yang has dominated this tournament over the years so it will be interesting to see whether one of the top golfers in the world can catch her here this week.
Past Five Winners
2017: Amy Yang -22
2016: Lexi Thompson -20
2015: Amy Yang -15
2014: Anna Nordqvist -15
2013: Inbee Park -12
What To Know About The Course
Accuracy off the tee will once again be more important than overall driving distance at the Pattaya Old Course. The Siam Country Club has seen plenty of low scores over the years including Yang’s record performance last year, so there is no doubt that experience will count. Scrambling and Putting numbers will be the most important statistics to keep an eye on at this week’s Honda LPGA Thailand. While getting to the greens will be important, it won’t matter if the golfers in the mix to win don’t sink their putts consistently enough to win outright.
The Field
In addition to the top-six golfers in the world competing there is also a heavy home contingent that includes six Thailand natives that are looking to take care of business at home. Former world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn and Moriya Jutanugarn lead the way in terms of the home representatives. Meanwhile, Thompson is the sports betting favorite to win this tournament at +750 odds. Park and Feng are both listed at +850 odds to win outright, followed by Ryu and Jin Young Ko at +1415 odds. The defending champion Yang is listed at +1550 odds to win this tournament for the third time in four years this week.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Lexi Thompson over Sung Hyun Park
There is no place like the top of the sports betting board to bet on for a good head-to-head matchup. For as good as Park has been, Thompson has been absolutely dominant and she has had some success at this tournament in the past. Park won this event in 2016 and then finished third here last year. There is a reason why Thompson is the sports betting favorite to win this event. She’s a smart bet to finish ahead of Park in the head-to-head betting matchup for the Honda LPGA Thailand this week.
Top-Five Pick: Amy Yang
While the odds might seem to be against her winning here for the third time in four years, there is no doubt that Yang is a solid pick to finish in the top-five once again. Yang has won this tournament twice in the last three years including a record performance here in 2017. Meanwhile, she finished tied for third in 2016 and knows what it takes to succeed here again. While she might not win outright, Yang should be a solid value pick to place in the top-five at the Honda LPGA Thailand for the fourth year in a row this week.
Odds To Win Honda LPGA Thailand
Lexi Thompson +750
Sung Hyun Park +850
Shanshan Feng +850
Jin Young Ko +1415
So Yeon Feng +1415
Amy Yang +1550
In Gee Chun +1550
Minijee Lee +2050
Lydia Ko +2250
Sei Young Kim +2250
Stacy Lewis +2550
Ariya Jutanugarn +2550
Brittany Lincicome +3050
Anna Nordqvist +3250
Charley Hull +3250
Moriya Jutanugarn +3550
Cristie Kerr +3550
Nelly Korda +3550
Jessica Korda +3550
Lizette Salas +4050
Danielle Kang +4050
Michelle Wie +4050
Brooke M Henderson +4050
Georgia Hall +4050
Carlota Ciganda +4550
