Wednesday 22 April 2015 12:53, UK
Tomson Shanghai Pudong GC is the venue for this week’s Volvo China Open, where Frenchman Alexander Levy will defend the title he won 12 months ago.
Curiously, Levy’s triumph came at Genzon GC, which hosted last week’s Shenzhen International where Kiradech Aphibarnat got the better of Hao-Tong Li in a play-off, and on the small bits of evidence at hand we’re in for a slightly tougher test.
Pudong GC isn’t a brand new European Tour venue, having hosted seven editions of the now-defunct BMW Asian Open from 2002 to 2008. In one of them, Ernie Els somehow shot 26-under-par to win by a whopping 13 shots but the last three renewals were won in scores of seven-, ten- and eight-under par, and I’ve a feeling this won’t be easy.
The other thing to note is the type of players who won the Asian Open. Former Open champions Els, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington account for three of the seven titles with Miguel Angel Jimenez, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Raphael Jacquelin and Jarmo Sandelin the other four. To my mind, this is a who’s who of strong links/wind players and that’s an angle to bear in mind.
So I’ll give another chance to Ross Fisher, who played nicely enough without threatening the leaders last week.
Fisher’s last victory came on an exposed layout in South Africa and having led into the final round of the 2009 Open Championship, he’s certainly a factor when controlling ball-flight is key.
The Englishman has now been second and 15th in his last two starts in China and putted nicely last time, so with his ball-striking still in fine shape he should build on past experience at the course, which in truth doesn’t amount to much.
Paul Lawrie fits the bill in terms of being another former Open champion and he’s got some good form at this course, finishing eighth and 27th in two visits to date.
The Scot has only played four events this year but has banked a cheque on each occasion, while ranking inside the top-10 for greens in regulation in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The concern is that he’s been struggling with a chest infection but according to Twitter he’s feeling much better and shot six-under at Aboyne Golf Club near to his Aberdeen home last week. Strangely, given the apparent nature of this course, preparing in Scotland might actually put him at an advantage.
Backing any golfer who hasn’t played competitively in over two months is always risky but with Lawrie’s compatriot Richie Ramsay defying fitness concerns to win for us in Morocco a couple of weeks ago, it’s a chance we can afford to take.
I thought Chris Wood played really nicely after a poor start last week and he’s worth chancing on his debut here.
Wood is best known for his exploits in the Open and it’s interesting that his sole European Tour win to date came in the Qatar Masters, another event whose roll-of-honour is dominated by Open Championship winners and nearly-men like Els, Adam Scott and Thomas Bjorn.
Two starts ago, Wood was second and with every passing week he should get sharper having been out for a long time with an injury. Having won in the Far East in a non-European Tour event he has plenty of positive memories from Asia and he looks just the type to thrive here.
Finally, chance Matteo Manassero at 100/1.
The young Italian has endured a rough time on and off the course over the last 18 months but this is a four-time European Tour winner who still has his best days ahead.
With wins in Singapore and Malaysia already and some signs of encouragement over the last few weeks, he’s worth chancing because on his best form he’d be clear favourite here.
