Asian PGA

BMW Asian Open

The richest event to be played in Asia forms the penultimate event on the 2001 Asian PGA Tour schedule and the first event on the 2002 European Tour schedule. It seems rather strange therefore that it is played just three days - less if the time zone differences are taken into account - after the conclusion of the qualifying school for the 2002 European Tour. Arjun Atwal and Peter Fowler tee it up this week after securing their card for next year; Scott Drummond, Anthony Kang and Graeme Storm were also in Spain on Monday but only have the scant consolation of category 14 exemption for next year, while for four others that failed to gain any exemption via the qualifying school, this is an expensive round-trip in the hope of a good week to attract the attention of tournament sponsors for next year.

The event is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian PGA Tours, with both Tours providing 60 players in the field. The Ta Shee Golf and Country Club has previously been used for the 1999 Johnnie Walker Classic and the 1997 Ta Shee Open, though it has recently undergone a "complete facelift". The course tends to play shorter than the yardage (7,104 yards) as the fairways tend to be hard, or at least that is how it played in 1999. But the main problem for the Europeans will be acclimatization, it is a long flight and a very different climate from conditions in Spain.

The three selections for this event are Vijay Singh, Charlie Wi and Thongchai Jaidee. Singh is the class player in this field by some margin and his superiority is only enhanced by his record in this part of the world. He won both the co-sanctioned events in Asia at the start of the year and also won the Taiwan Open last year on his last visit to the island. Fresh from the EMC World Cup in Japan and some markedly improved performances on the PGA Tour, it is hard to see him off the leaderboard at any point this week.

The next two selections are the two players who will battle it out for the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit title. Wi currently leads Jaidee, courtesy of three wins this season already, but Jaidee tops the scoring average stats. With Wi having won his last two Asian PGA Tour events and finishing a very creditable 21st in the Volvo Masters in Spain as an invited player, he looks to be the best chance for a home Tour victory.

The less fashionable Jaidee didn't get invited to Spain, but he has been in similarly impressive form on the Asian PGA Tour. He has finished in the top-10 in his last five starts and top-5 in four of his last five, including the Taiwan Open, and has maybe the greater incentives to fine-tune his game, given that he is trailing Wi in the Order of Merit race. Either way, at this time of the season and in Taiwan, he looks a far better 50/1 shot than many of the more famous Europeans.

Outright plays:

Vijay Singh to win 9/2 @ Sportingbet or Easybets

Charlie Wi to win 40/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet

Thongchai Jaidee to win 50/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet or Victor Chandler

72-hole plays:

Vijay Singh to beat Michael Campbell -160 @ Five Dimes [2 units]
Campbell may have won the 1999 Johnnie Walker Classic on this course, but his form in the last six months has been poor. He did finish 2nd last week, but that was with an impressive David Smail and to have lost that event having led for so long may be demoralizing. Have to stick with Vijay in Asia

Thongchai Jaidee to beat David Gleeson -140 @ Camelot [2 units]
Strange matchup. Gleeson is based on the Asian PGA Tour like his opponent, but he ranked 47th on the Order of Merit to Jaidee's 2nd and doesn't even rank in the top-50 in the scoring average stats which Jaidee tops. He may have finished a faltering 9th last week in the Australian PGA, but his record outside that event is poor

Miguel Angel Jimenez to beat Ian Poulter -125 @ Intertops
Continue to oppose the erratic Poulter. Jimenez has shown himself to be one of the most consistent players on Tour and a good traveler. Have to side with Jimenez against a player who has as much chance of missing the cut as finishing in the top-15

Jose Maria Olazabal to beat Ian Poulter -118 @ Easybets
Much the same with this match. Olly is a good traveler, playing frequently in Japan as well as on the PGA Tour, plus he comes into the event fresher having avoided the World Cup last week

Mid-point update:

Sitting pretty after 36 holes, but sadly none of the plays are decided at the cut. Singh leads Campbell by five, Jaidee leads Gleeson by three, Jimenez leads Poulter by nine and Olazabal leads Poulter by eight. Still have two days to lose these positions though! Satisfactory position in outrights. Singh is 3rd, two shots behind Sandelin who can be sure to self-destruct over the weekend, while Wi and Jaidee both brought themselves back into contention with good 2nd round scores. They both lie 19th, just four shots behind Singh.

Final update: 3-1-0 and +0.80 units

Good wins on the matchups, but a costly loss on Singh. Jaidee beat Gleeson by 18 shots, Jimenez beat Poulter by 16 and Jimenez beat Poulter by 19, but the two-unit play on Singh over Campbell fell a shot short as Vijay had a poor weekend and surrendered a five-shot advantage. Still a profit on the plays, just!

Update on outright plays: 1-2 and +3.75 units

Jaidee made up for Singh's poor weekend, but surging to within a shot of the leader Sandelin. He failed to find that extra birdie in the last four holes, but his 2nd place finish was still a profitable win. Singh finished back in 8th place, while Wi surrendered a top-5 place win with four dropped shot in four holes on the back nine. He finished 11th.