PREVIEW: DP World Tour – ISPS Handa Championship In Japan

2022/2023 DP World Tour/ Japan Golf Tour
ISPS Handa Championship in Japan
PGM Ishioka GC, Omitama, Ibaraki, Japan
20th-23rd April

This is will be the first time in nearly a month that we see regular DP World Tour golf. This means that many of the regular DP World Tour players will be getting their first taste of action in some time.

The players in the upper crust had a chance to duke it out at the WGC Match-Play and Masters. The DP World Tour had a big legal win earlier this month, with a court upholding their right to fine and suspend LIV Golf players who featured in conflicting events without permission.

The tour may have felt slightly deflated by the elevated performance of LIV competitors in this year’s Masters. But Rahm’s runaway Augusta victory and Fitzpatrick’s subsequent RBC Heritage win came as a timely reminder of the inherent strength of European golf.

The ISPS Handa Championship In Japan

This promises to be a historic week in European golf. This is set to be the first DP World Tour event co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour.

This historic occasion had actually been scheduled for last year. But the 2022 edition was eventually played as a sole-sanctioned Japan Golf Tour event. This was due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

The DP World Tour hastily arranged the once-off ISPA Handa Championship in Spain to fill in the gap (journeyman pro Pablo Larrazabal would go on to win that one-off event).

Yuto Katsuragawa won the inaugural staging of this event with a score of (-24).

PGM Ishioka GC

This week’s event will be hosted at yet another Jack Nicklaus design: PGM Ishioka GC. Last month we actually had back-to-back South African events hosted on Nicklaus designs (St Francis Links and Steyn City).

St Francis was a classical links design while Steyn City was a parkland layout (highlighting Nicklaus’ variety as a designer). But they were both highlighted by low scoring.

Matthew Baldwin won the SDC in 18-under-par Nick Bachem won the Jonsson Workwear Open in 23-under. And that certainly looks to be the case this week.

As I noted earlier, Yuto Katsuragawa won this event in a staggering 24-under par last year. This par 70 is just a smidge over 7,000 yards and is relatively tight from the tee box. But there are plenty of scoring opportunities out there, with four sub-400 par 4’s in the mix.

This usually means one thing: a putting contest. Players will need to drain putts this week on this relatively short, gettable layout.

The Contenders

This week’s event has actually benefitted from the lack of DP Tour action in the last month. Many strong DP World Tour regulars have made the trip to Japan in order to make up for lost time.

Rasmus Hojgaard has been one of the most consistent performers on tour and makes a logical favourite this week. But it’s certainly Christiaan Bezuidenhout who comes into this event with the hottest current form.

He finished 11th at the American Express and 13th at the Players Championship. He is also fresh off a final round 64 at the RBC Heritage.

Rikuya Hoshino is a course specialist who may be the best prospect of the Japanese contingent. Robert Macintyre needs to build some momentum while Antoine Rozner has been very consistent this year.

Past Winners

2022: Yuto Katsuragawa (-24) *on the Japan Golf Tour

To Win Outright:

Rasmus Hojgaard 18/1 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout 18/1 | Rikuya Hoshino 25/1 | Robert Macintyre 25/1 | Lucas Herbert 20/1

Value Bets

Yannick Paul- To Win 28/1 | To Place 10/3

This is a slightly risky pick considering it’s been the better part of two months since Yannick Paul has last played. But the German’s last two results were back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Thailand Classic and Indian Open. He hit 90% of his GIR in his last outing and he should fancy this fairly simple test. He won in Mallorca last year in what was a far more stringent test of golf. But he performed brilliantly in a birdie-fest earlier this year, making two eagles and 22 birdies when finishing 2nd to Olesen in Thailand.

Joost Luiten- To Win 33/1 | To Place 7/2

This relatively tight tree-lined affair should suit veteran Dutchman Joost Luiten. He goes in search of a seventh European title and could make a decent charge in this field. He was a disappointing 43rd in his last appearance at the Johnson Workwear Open. But I think it would be wise to look at a course that corollates slightly better with PGM Oshioka. He finished 3rd on similar courses in Thailand and India. He also had a 9th-place finish at the recent SDC Championship.

The Man to Beat  Riyuka Hoshino- To Win 25/1 | To Place 11/4

I’m taking a risk by swerving the more seasoned European contenders. The 26-year-old Japanese Hoshino has won six times on the Japan Golf Tour since 2018. He plays at a course this week where has sensational finishes of 2nd and 1st. He averages 64.88 at PGM Oshioka. He has actually played well all around the world. He finished in a highly creditable T26 at the 2021 US Open. He also finished 6th on the DP World Tour earlier this year at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.