It’s off to the races again as the 2019 European Tour season opens in China with the Honma Hong Kong Open. It’s the first stop on the 48 tournament schedule that takes place in 31 different countries on five different continents. Golfers haven’t even had time to unpack their suitcase following Danny Willett’s win at the DP World Tour Championship where Francesco Molinari was crowned the Race to Dubai winner.
It’s tempting for some high-profile players to take the week off after completing the season, but we’ve got a decent amount of top-end talent looking to get a fast start in the new points race. Coming off his runner-up finish at the DP World Tour that moved him past Tommy Fleetwood for second in the Race to Dubai, Patrick Reed opened as the betting favorite at +525, followed closely by Fleetwood ( +575 ) and Sergio Garcia ( +605 ) in the top-heavy field.
Odds to Win Honma Hong Kong Open at BookMaker.eu
Patrick Reed +525
Tommy Fleetwood +575
Sergio Garcia +605
Rafa Cabrera Bello +1050
Matthew Fitzpatrick +1050
Lucas Bjerregaard +1475
Jason Scrivener +3400
Shubhankar Sharma +4150
Wade Ormsby +5050
Marcus Fraser +5555
Sean Crocker +5600
Sam Horsfield +5600
Marcus Kinhult +6625
Matthias Schwab +6625
Andrew Johnston +7750
Aaron Rai +8000
Thomas Aiken +8050
Sanghyun Park +8500
Matthew Southgate +8550
Alejandro Canizares +8550
Ricardo Gouveia +9000
Paul Peterson +9000
Ashley Chesters +9000
Miguel Angel Jimenez +9050
Nicolas Colsaerts +9500
Victor Dubuisson +9500
David Lipsky +9500
Nacho Elvira +9500
Edoardo Molinari +9500
Jeunghun Wang +10000
Gonzalo Fdez-castano +10000
John Catlin +10000
Jack Singh Brar +10500
Fabrizio Zanotti +10500
Justin Harding +10500
Jazz Janewattananond +11500
Masahiro Kawamura +11500
Angelo Que +11500
Adri Arnaus +11500
Victor Perez +11500
Gregory Bourdy +11550
Joachim B. Hansen +11800
Scott Hend +12000
S.S.P. Chawrasia +12500
Adilson Da Silva +12500
Sihwan Kim +13500
Phachara Khongwatmai +13500
Keith Horne +13500
David Horsey +14500
Hyowon Park +14500
Odds Analysis
Wade Ormsby +5050
If history can repeat itself, Ormsby is a spectacular payday at his current odds. He was a longshot 12 months ago having never won a tournament title, but he came away with a 1-shot victory here in his 264th start and he enjoyed his finest season with a 48th place finish in the Race to Dubai rankings. He’s not a big hitter, but he does hit the ball straight, which is a huge plus on this course. He grabbed a share of eighth in 2013 and was T25 in 2016, and the Met has a place in Ormsby’s heart. “It’s a golf course I love, it’s a golf course that suits my game, so it’s nice to come back to a place where you feel you can contend.”
Patrick Reed +525
Reed looks to start the new season as hot as he ended the last one. Grabbing a share of second place at the DP World Tour Championship, he moved into second behind Francesco Molinari in the Race to Dubai, and he did it in just 11 starts. Reed was killing it over the last few events with a T7 at the WGC-HSBC Champions. He debuted here with a T3 in 2015 and his accuracy and greens in regulation were second-best among the field last week, so his form looks good for a strong showing.
Lucas Bjerregaard +1475
The Dane comes in as one of the hottest golfers on the circuit. He posted a victory and nine top-10 finishes last season, and they all came in his final 20 events to put him at 13th in the Race to Dubai. His recent form is off the charts and his course form is fine as well. He shared 24th in his maiden start here in 2013, followed that with a fifth-place showing in 2014 and grabbed runner-up honors in 2015. He skipped this event the last two years, but returns looking to continue his ascent up the leaderboard.
Sergio Garcia +605
He enters at the top of his game after winning the Andalucia Valderrama Masters, finishing 3-shots back of Lee Westwood at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and grabbing a share of ninth-place in Dubai last week. He’s hitting greens in regulation consistently and the layout suits his game, though he was a disappointing T19 here last year.
Course: Hong Kong Golf Club - 6,703-yards, Par-70
Fanling, as it’s known, stretches out to just over 6,700 yards, which is a short porch for nearly every professional golfer. That doesn’t mean it’s an easy layout to play, though. Miss a few drives on the tight, tree-lined fairways and the score can jump quickly. The winner here hit between -11 and -14 in four of the last five years, so the proof is there. Accuracy is definitely rewarded and the last five tournament champions all were in the top-10 for greens in regulation.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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