Some of the best in the world will make the trip to Shima, Japan and the Kintesu Kashikojima Country Club for the Toto Japan Classic this week. It will be the sixth and final event on the LPGA Tour’s Asian swing with an absolutely loaded field set to compete including each of the top-five players in the Rolex Rankings. Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn will be expected to contend for the outright win as always but after last week’s disappointment it should be no surprise that a new sports betting favorite has emerged for this week’s tournament. It’s interesting to see some of these events go off without Ko being the favorite but that’s the case in this spot. She’s one of three players that are inside of 10/1 (there are six players inside of 20/1) but Shanshan Feng is the clear-cut favorite in this spot.
Event
Event Details: Toto Japan Classic
Category: LPGA
Date: November 4-6
Location: Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima, Japan
Shanshan Feng stole the spotlight when she recorded a three-stroke victory over Suzann Pettersen at last week’s Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and her dominance over the past few weeks has elevated her stock heading in to this week’s event. Feng has finished fourth or better in each of her last six events and suddenly golfers like Ko and Jutanugarn are on the outside marveling at her consistency.
Past Five Winners
2015: Sun-ju Ahn -16
2014: Mi Hyang Lee -11
2013: Teresa Lu -14
2012: Stacy Lewis -11
2011: Momoko Ueda -19
What To Know About The Course
The Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club course will favor consistency and the ability to find the greens and make putts. The favorable conditions should result in plenty of low scores so this could end up being a birdie fest that comes down to which golfer can maintain the highest level of play from start to finish. The Asian contingent has benefited from the home advantage for the better part of the last decade with seven of the last eight winners having origins in the region including last year’s winner Sun-Ju Ahn.
The Field
Feng’s recent dominance has her at the top of the list of sports betting favorites to win this tournament outright at +400 odds while Ko and Jutanugarn are both available at +900. All three golfers should be in line for strong performances this week with Jutanugarn and Ko both expected to bounce back from disappointing starts at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. In Gee Chun and So Yeon Ryu round out the top five selections on the board according to the sports betting odds. Keep an eye out for Suzann Pettersen as well as a decent value option at +2000 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Ariya Jutanugarn over In Gee Chun
There is no reason to expect Feng to slow down this week but there wouldn’t be as much value betting on her as there is betting on Jutanugarn to best Chun this week. Jutanugarn is coming off her worst start of the season following a 43rd place finish at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and it wouldn’t surprise anybody if she rebounded with a top-five finish. Selecting her to beat out Chun should be a safe bet that isn’t terrible value either.
Top-Five Pick: Lydia Ko
The world No. 1 has been an absolute mess over her last four outings without a single top-10 finish over that span. Ko did manage to tie for 12th at last week’s tournament in Malaysia so we will take that as a sign that she could be close to a breakthrough performance getting back on track. Ko has the potential to dominate in any given week and she should be a strong pick to bounce back deliver a top-five performance at the Toto Japan Classic this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Toto Classic
Shanshan Feng +350
Ariya Jutanugarn +805
Lydia Ko +805
In Ge Chun +1050
Suzann Pettersen +1850
So Yeon Ryu +1850
Lexi Thompson +2050
Jiyai Shin +2050
Sei Young Kim +2050
Min Jee Lee +2250
Hyo Joo Kim +3050
Stacy Lewis +3250
