Brendan Steele opened up the 2018 PGA Tour season by defending his title at the Safeway Open in California. The PGA Tour now heads to Asia for three tournaments, starting with the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
Details
Event: CIMB Classic
Category: PGA
Date: October 12th – 15th
Location: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, West Course, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Steele won with a score of -15, shooting a 69 on Sunday. Tony Finau came in second, two shots behind, while Phil Mickelson and Chesson Hadley both finished at -12. Graham DeLaet and Tyler Duncan rounded out the top five at -11.
Past Five Winners
2017: JustinThomas -23
2016: Justin Thomas -26
2015: Ryan Moore -17
2014: Ryan Moore -14
2013: Nick Watney -22
The Field
The field isn’t going to be particularly strong here as a lot of the big names in golf are still taking it easy in terms of the new season. However, we will see a pair of top-five players in the world and some other big names like Ian Poulter, Thomas Pieters and Paul Casey.
Justin Thomas will be the headline act here as he goes for his third straight win at this event. While he doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the big boys, Thomas would be the first player to win an event three straight times since Steve Stricker did it from 2009-2011.
Also keep an eye on Xander Schauffele, who won the Tour Championship last season. He’ll be making his 2018 debut.
What To Know About The Course
Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club opened in 1991 and it is a par-72 course that is 7,005 yards long. There are four par-5 holes, including the final hole, but the two on the front nine are easy for the field to get there in two shots. There are also a couple of par-4s that are drivable. Also, putting is key at this course as the greens don’t run as fast and players can really go at the hole.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Hideki Matsuyama over Justin Thomas
Matsuyama is a +120 underdog in this matchup over Thomas, who is listed at -140 and for good reason. Thomas has not only won here two years in a row, but he is coming off a season in which he won the PGA Championship, the FedEx Cup and he was apart of the Presidents’ Cup team that beat Matsuyama and the International team soundly. Matsuyama looked like he was tiring near the end of the season, but a couple weeks off should do him some good. He is from Japan, so he’ll be excited to play in Asia and finally, he has done pretty well at this tournament, finishing solo fifth and second in his last two starts here. Thomas has had a whirlwind of a year and it might take him a tournament or two to get his form back.
Top-Five Pick: Rafael Cabrera Bello
Cabrera Bello played his very first PGA Tour event here last year and finished T-10. He finished T-18 at the Dell Technologies Championship and T33 at the BMW Championship to finish up the season, and he has been off since then, so he’ll be well wrested. Cabrera Bello won the Scottish Open last year on the European Tour, so he has a good pedigree. He is also known as one of the best putters in the world, and if a couple putts go in early at Kuala Lumpur, the hole could seem to get pretty big for Cabrera Bello, who is quietly ranked 19th in the world and could be ready to make some real noise in 2018. Cabrera Bello would like to get the season off to a good start here in Kuala Lumpur.
Odds To Win 2018 CIMB Classic
Justin Thomas +405
Hideki Matsuyama +905
Paul Casey +1215
Xander Schauffele +2250
Brendan Steele +2550
Ian Poulter +2550
Charl Schwartzel +2550
Anirban Lahiri +2550
Gary Woodland +2850
Kevin Na +3050
Thomas Pieters +3250
Branden Grace +3250
Pat Perez +3250
Rafa Cabrera Bello +3550
Gramham DeLaet +3550
Bud Cauley +3550
Chez Reavie +4050
Russell Knox +4050
Scott Piercy +4050
Jason Dufner +4550
Kyle Stanley +4550
James Hahn +4550
Grayson Murray +4550
Ollie Schniederjans +4550
Emiliano Grillo +5050
Peter Uihlein +5050
Cameron Smith +5050
Adam Hadwin +5500
Hao Tong Li +5500
Luke List +6550
The 2018 PGA Tour season is underway. Click here to get all of the latest golf betting lines at BetDSI including head-to-head matchups, props and odds to win each PGA, LPGA, EPGA and Champions Tour tournaments!
