The LPGA will make its return to China for the second time in the last month this week when it reaches the Hainen Island for the Blue Bay LPGA tournament this week. 81 of the top players in the world will compete for a $2.1 million purse at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course in the fourth of six straight events in Asia this fall. Carlota Ciganda surprised a strong field with an underdog win at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship last week and it will be interesting to see how things play out with another very strong field for this week’s event. One notable absence is the one of Lydia Ko, who is the best player in the world. Whenever she’s in the field, she’s the favorite to win but with her absence in this spot, it’s opened up the door for some other players to step up. She’s been in the news this week after breaking up with her caddie, which has been a mild surprise. She has registered four wins this season.
Event Details
Event: Blue Bay LPGA
Category: LPGA
Date: October 20-23
Location: Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
Sei-Young Kim is the defending champion at this tournament and she returns looking to win this event for the second year in a row after getting the job done last year as a rookie. Kim has added two more wins to her resume since her victory here in 2015 and it will be interesting to see if she has what it takes to get it done this weekend.
Past Five Winners
2015: Sei-Young Kim -2
2014: Lee-Anne Pace -16
What To Know About The Course
The Blue Bay Golf Course is considered one of the most challenging courses on the LPGA Tour. Driving Accuracy is extremely important and it will be difficult to win this event without good numbers in that category. Greens In Regulation will also be among the keys to success but it’s important not to overlook Scrambling statistics as well. It will take a strong combination in each of those areas in order to get a victory this week and it will be interesting to see how some of the best in the world fare in this challenge.
The Field
Kim returns as the defending Blue Bay LPGA champion and she will also be among the favorites to win this event at +700 odds. However, she will not be the sports betting favorite as that title belongs to Ariya Jutanugarn, who is listed at +400 odds. Jutanugarn struggled at last week’s event but is still among the top players in the world and is clearly the most talented player in this week’s field with Lydia Ko taking the week off. Brooke Henderson, Amy Yang and Minjee Lee round out the list of the top sports betting favorites for this week’s event.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Sei Young Kim over Brooke Henderson
Henderson delivered one of the worst performances of his career at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship last week and we aren’t banking on her bouncing back with a top-10 performance as the Asian swing continues this week. Instead, we are banking on Kim delivering another outstanding performance at this event and besting Henderson by a significant margin. Kim will be a popular pick to win this event outright but we prefer to take her in the head-to-head sports betting matchup.
Top-Five Pick: Ariya Jutanugarn
Jutanugarn followed up a string of six straight top-10 finishes with a 13th-place finish at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship so there is a good chance she bounces back with a better performance this week. Jutanugarn is far too talented to finish outside of the top-five again as the best player in this field so look for her to bounce back and contend for the outright win while definitely clinching a top-five spot at the Blue Bay LPGA this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Blue Bay Tournament
Ariya Jutanugarn +450
Brooke Henderson +750
Sei Young Kim +750
Amy Yang +1050
Carlota Ciganda +1850
Minjee Lee +1850
Candie Kung +2050
Gerina Piller +2050
Brittany Lang +2550
Charley Hull +2550
Danielle Kang +3050
