Five of the last six winners at the WGC-HSBC Champions will be in action again at the Shenshen Golf Club in China this week. Dustin Johnson, the winner in 2013, should probably have won again two years ago but is an absentee this time and there is no Brooks Koepka, who has a knee injury. Justin Rose, the winner in 2017, and Rory McIlroy both play, however, and head a strong European challenge. Defending champion Xander Schauffele also takes part and is the third of the world’s top 10 in action.
WGC-HSBC Winners Last 10 Years
| YEAR | WINNER | SCORE | RUNNER UP | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Phil Mickelson | 271 | Ernie Els | 272 |
| 2010 | Francesco Molinari | 269 | Lee Westwood | 270 |
| 2011 | Martin Kaymer | 268 | Freddie Jacobson | 271 |
| 2012 | Ian Poulter | 267 | Jason Dufner | 269 |
| Ernie Els | 269 | |||
| Phil Mickelson | 269 | |||
| Scott Piercy | 269 | |||
| 2013 | Dustin Johnson | 264 | Ian Poulter | 267 |
| 2014 | Bubba Watson | 277 | Tim Clark | 277 |
| 2015 | Russell Knox | 268 | Kevin Kisner | 270 |
| 2016 | Hideki Matsuyama | 265 | Daniel Berger | 272 |
| Henrik Stenson | 272 | |||
| 2017 | Justin Rose | 274 | Dustin Johnson | 276 |
| Brooks Koepka | 276 | |||
| Henrik Stenson | 276 | |||
| 2018 | Xander Schauffele | 274 | Tony Finau | 274 |
The Course
The Shenshan International GC (West) is par 72 course of 7,261 yards The course is one of China’s most exclusive and has hosted the WGC-HSBC Champions every year since 2009 except when the tournament was played at Mission Hills in the USA in 2012. This is the 11th time the tournament will be contested as part of the WGC calendar.
Dustin Johnson holds the 72-hole championship course record (264) and this is a course that suits the big-hitters. The par 5 holes generally hold the key to a successful round – they are all vulnerable to birdies if you can get distance off the tee. While course form holds up well, it is by no means impossible for first-time visitors to win. There is, however, no doubt that it is a lot more difficult to post lower scores than it was but you don’t want to be shooting more than a high 60s score in each of the four rounds if you want to take home a decent share of the prize money.
WGC-HSBC Champions Predictions – Casey back on one of his favourite courses
Horses for courses is a popular proverb, golfers for courses not so! However, there is no doubt that an ability to play Shanghai’s premier golf club is a positive.
For that reason, we can’t leave last year’s winner XANDER SCHAUFFELE out of calculations this year at the general 14/1.
A four-times winner of the US PGA Tour, the 26-year-old has frequently proven himself to be suited by the big occasion. The winner of the Tour Championship in 2018, he has recorded top-10 finishes in five Major championships out of 11. He finished only one shot behind Tiger Woods in this year’s Masters, tied for third in the U.S. Open at Pebble and was second in the Tour Championship at East Lake. Last year, he tied for second in the Open at Carnoustie and in the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
It will inspire Schauffele that he has been grouped with the 2017 winner Justin Rose (a general 16/1) and Rory McIlroy in the opening round. The latter is a best 6/1 with Betvictor but, surprisingly, hasn’t been entirely convincing at Shenshen in the past, though arrives back in top form.
In contrast, PAUL CASEY has hardly put a foot wrong in Shanghai.
Now 42, the Englishman has never won a WGC event and endured a four-year winless run in all tournaments between 2014 and 2018 but only twice has he finished outside the top 20 in 11 previous visits to Shenshen. A best 22/1 to win this week, it is significant that he is only a best 4/5 with Bet365 among others to finish in the top 20. Casey will play the first 18 holes this year alongside the 2016 winner Hideki Matsuyama (a general 20/1 but 20/1 to be First Round Leader) and former world number one Jordan Spieth (35/1 with Boylesport to be Outright Winner).
In the market to finish in the top 20, Sweden’s HENRIK STENSON also appeals at a best 11/10. Stenson tied for second in 2016 and 2017 so there are no concerns about whether he’ll handle the course.
IAN POULTER is 60/1 with Bet365 in the Outright Betting.
The Postman last delivered a tournament win in Houston 18 months ago and hasn’t figured in any of the Majors since tying for 12th in the Masters this year but he has an excellent record in the Far East. He has also won a couple of WGC events in the past, including this one, and was also second here in 2013.
WGC-HSBC Champions Outright Winner Current Best Odds
Rory McIlroy 6/1
Hideki Matsuyama 12/1
Xander Schauffele 14/1
Justin Rose 16/1
Paul Casey 22/1
Tony Finau and Tommy Fleetwood 25/1
Patrick Reed 30/1
Sungjae Im, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson 33/1
Bernd Wiesberger and Jordan Spieth 35/1
Cameron Smith, Tyrell Hatton, Matt Wallace, Byeong Hun An, Shane Lowry and Billy Horschel 40/1
Matthew Fitzpatrick and Rafael Cabrera Bello 50/1
Sergio Garcia and Charles Howell III 55/1
Corey Conners, Louis Oosthuizen and Ian Poulter 60/1
Adam Hadwin, Danny Willett, Francesco Molinari and Andrew Putnam 66/1
Keegan Bradley and Erik Van Rooyen 70/1
Haotong Li 75/1
Robert Macintyre and Phil Mickelson 80/1
Joost Luiten, Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover 90/1
Jason Kokrak, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Bubba Watson, Matthias Schwab, Andrea Pavan and Kevin Kisner 100/1
110/1 and Upwards Others
(Odds correct at 10.45am October 30)
