Ashun Wu won his 2nd Volvo China Open at a ridiculous price last week, securing his 5th DP World Tour title despite going into the event in dreadful from.
2024/2025 DP World Tour/ Asian Tour
Hainan Classic
Blackstone Course, Hainan, China
24th-27th April
Ashun Wu won his 2nd Volvo China Open at a ridiculous price last week, securing his 5th DP World Tour title despite going into the event in dreadful from. Wu made a Sunday charge on the back nine, making five birdies to hold off Jordan Smith in Shanghai. The DP World Tour remains in China this week, travelling to its most southernmost point: Hainan. Last week was difficult to decode, with a brand-new course (Enhance Anting) hosting its debut event. This week’s event looks like another Agatha Christie-style mystery, with the inception of a completely new event: the Hainan Classic. Also, this event will take place at a course that has not been used for any stroke-play event: the Blackstone Course.
The Blackstone Course may be familiar to some eagle-eyed golfing enthusiasts, having hosted the World Cup of Golf back in 2011 (won by Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar). It is one of ten courses at the Mission Hills resort on the island of Hainan. The course was created on the site of a volcanic lava field, with the holes snaking in and out of a mixture of wooded areas, wetlands and lakeside areas (it really makes for an aesthetically stunning layout). This will be one of the longest tracks utilized on this year’s DP World Tour, measuring 7,711 yards. There is plenty of room off the tee and I would probably focus more on driving distance than accuracy (you must be wild to find the lava out there). However, I think that approach play could be a vital stat this week. This course features large, multi-tiered greens, and players will need to be dialled-in with their irons if they wish to find the right portions of these complexes.
Haotong Li looked like he was primed for another victory last week, going into the final round tied with Eugenio Chacarra for the lead. And he almost had the perfect start to this final round, flying the ball into the cup from the fairway for what should have been an eagle start. But the ball ricocheted in an unnatural manner, defying physics to go through the back of the green (which set the tone for the day). Still, Li won the Qatar Masters and looks a logical favourite. Rasmus Neergard-Petersen is in solid form, finishing in the top 22 in each of his last four events (including runner-up finishes in Qatar and Puerto Rico). 20-year-old Wenyi Ding looks like a future star of Asian golf. He comes into this off the back of four successive top 20 finishes and looks primed for a title push. Elsewhere, the likes of Keita Nakajima and Matthew Jordan jump off the page in an extremely depleted field.
Past Winners
n/a
Betting Favourites (To Win): Haotong Li (14/1), Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (14/1), Wenyi Ding (16/1), Keita Nakajima (18/1), Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (18/1)
Value Bets
Sam Bairtstow- To Win (33/1)
26-year-old Sam Baistow could be a candidate for success this week. Bairstow won the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge on the 2nd tier back in 2023 and went on to make the DP World Tour Championship in his rookie season last year. He started his current campaign in encouraging fashion, picking up top 11 finishes at the SA Open, Joburg Open and Qatar Masters. He returned from a three-week break last week, shaking off some rust for a respectable T22 finish. He was 5th for GIR last week and currently sits 24th on tour for Driving Distance (which looks like a juicy combination on this monster).
Niklas Lemke- To Win (60/1)
I’m opting for 40-year-old Swede Niklas Lemke as an outside bet this week. Lemke turned professional in 2007 and has only made four appearances on the European circuit this season. However, he has been consistent when he has teed it up on the DP World Tour, with form figures reading T10-T13-T37-T22. He looks like a solid statistical match for this week’s course, currently ranked 25th in Driving Distance and 16th in GIR.
The Man to Beat- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen- To Win (14/1)
Rasmus Neergard-Petersen has done everything but win in recent months and is surely due to a victory (sooner or later). He ended 2024 in excellent fashion, picking up a top ten at the Australian PGA. He started to turn it on in February, pipped by Haotong Li in an impressive runner-up finish at the Qatar Masters. He took a month off and returned with authority, finishing runner-up at the US PGA Tour opposite-field event in Puerto Rico. He then went on to impress in a full-field PGA Tour event, finishing in a tie for 22nd at the Valspar Championship. He finished in the top ten in Shanghai and is probably the most consistent player in the current field.
