Justin Thomas picked up his first win of the 2018 PGA Tour season with a win at the CJ Cup, and the season rolls on now at the first World Golf Championship event. The WGC-HSBC Championship was first played in 2005, and it is a field that includes major winners, along with other WGC winners, the top 50 in the world golf rankings, the top 30 from the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai, as well as top players from the Asian, Japan, Australasia and the Sunshine Tours. Hideki Matsuyama is the defending champion as he won by seven strokes over Henrik Stenson and Daniel Berger.
Details
Event: WGC-HSBC Championship
Category: PGA
Date: October 26th – 29th
Location: Sheshan Golf Club, Shanghai, China
Thomas won last week in a two-hole playoff over Marc Leishman, while Cameron Smith, Whee Kim, Pat Perez, Jamie Lovemark, Brian Harman, Luke List, Scott Brown and Anirban Lahiri were in the top five. In the top five at Sheshan last year, Rory McIlroy and Bill Haas joined Matsuyama, Stenson and Berger.
Past Five Winners
2016: Hideki Matsuyama -23
2015: Russell Knox -20
2014: Bubba Watson -11
2013: Dustin Johnson -21
2012: Ian Poulter -21
The Field
Justin Thomas won last week but he’s skipping this event, which means the field is missing one solid contender. However, there is still plenty of quality here.
Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama are here, and both are among the favorites. Surprised? Don’t be. Combined, both ahve won the last five WGC events going back to last July. One interesting player to consider betting is Marc Leishman. HE won the BMW Championship recently and lost in the playoff to Thomas last week. One player toe avoid – even if he’s a brand name – is Phil Mickelson. He’s, of course, a big brand but he didn’t have a great performance last season. He did win here in 2009 but that was a long time a good. He might be in the twilight of his career.
What To Know About The Course
Sheshan Golf Club opened in 2004 in Shanghai and it has always been the host course of this event. It is a par-72 that can stretch out to 7,266 yards, and it can be scored on as five of the last six winners have reached -20 or lower. All the par-5s are holes where the players should get a birdie, except for the eighth hole, which was 603 yards last year and played as the third-hardest hole. From the eighth to the 13th hole, there are five of the seven hardest holes on the course.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Tyrrell Hatton over Henrik Stenson
Stenson is making his season debut as he last played at the BMW Championship, where he finished T-51. He has averaged just over 68 in the last two years at this event, and that’s a great score. However, Hatton is playing lights out right now as he has finishes of T-8, T-3, first and first in his last four starts. Hatton finished T-23 here last year and you could make an argument that he is the hottest player in the world right now, outside of maybe Thomas.
Top-Five Pick: Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama looked tired by the end of the season, and he didn’t pick up his game at the Presidents’ Cup. He started slow at the CIMB Classic, but Matsuyama rallied for a T-5 result and then he took the CJ Cup off. A rested Matsuyama is a dangerous player, and he dominated last year at Sheshan to kick off a fantastic season. He might not defend the title this week, but Matsuyama will have at least one low round that makes you think that he can and he’ll ride that round to another T-5.
Odds To Win 2018 HSBC Championship
Dustin Johnson +805
Hideki Matsuyama +1015
Jason Day +1650
Jon Rahm +1650
Justin Rose +1650
Marc Leishman +1650
Paul Casey +1850
Brooks Koepka +1850
Tyrrell Hatton +2250
Henrik Stenson +2250
Francesco Molinari +2250
Phil Mickelson +2550
Ross Fisher +2550
Pat Perez +2850
Xander Schauffele +3250
Tony Finau +3250
Matt Kuchar +3250
Tommy Fleetwood +3250
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3250
Patrick Reed +3250
Patrick Cantlay +3550
Daniel Berger +3550
Adam Scott +4550
Alex Noren +5050
Rafa Cabrera Bello +5050
Russell Henley +5500
Branden Grace +5500
Thomas Pieters +6550
Bill Haas +6550
Chez Reavie +6550
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