Genesis Championship

The Genesis Championship will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Club, Incheon, South Korea.

This course has hosted plenty of events from LPGA, KPGA to the Seniors as well as the 2015 edition of the Presidents Cup where the event travelled to Asia for the first time.

Last year it held the Korea Championship, co-sanctioned with the DPWT where Pablo Larrazabal edged out Marcus Helligkilde.

It's a par 72 and has enough room off the tee to suit the longer hitters. From there it's a matter of strong approach play, as it is on many Nicklaus designs.

It's no surprise there that the first two last year ranked 6th and 1st in strokes gained approach.

Larrazabal ranked 38th in driving distance but Helligkilde topped that statistic and four others inside the top 7 were at worst 12th in driving distance.

Somewhat remarkably the front two home ranked 55th and 68th on the greens which suggests a good putting week is far from necessary.

What has been evident throughout previous events held here is the impact wind can have on the course.

The forecast right now looks favourable with the worst of the weather passing through on Wednesday. 

Below is a look at the stats from the top performers in this tournament last year.

 

The Genesis Championship Tips

 

 

Byeong Hun An at 9/1 (Win)

Concentrating on those dropping down to this grade is often a sensible tactic and when those making the trip from the PGA Tour wind up in their homeland then look out.

This represents a huge opportunity for Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An and my preference is for the latter.

Tom Kim uncharacteristically missed the cut at Summerlin last week after two victories there.

It's not all doom and gloom though as his long game was in fairly decent shape and it was the short game that let him down.

On last year's evidence here a misfiring putter may not be too harmful though and it'd be no surprise should he bounce back.

However, the more lightly raced Byeong Hun An looks the better option at a point or two bigger in the market.

Many may wince at the thought of backing somebody who has won on neither of the two main tours since his breakthrough win at Wentworth back in 2015.

This season has suggested that he will not wait much longer and this represents a massive chance to land an overdue victory.

Ben An is often one who struggles with the putter and even though plenty of those problems have subsided in recent years this venue could be perfect for him.

Now one of the longest hitters in the game he should be able to take apart this par 72 and the strokes he gains on the field off the tee and on approach on a regular basis look a serious foundation to build a title challenge here in South Korea.

He was beaten in a playoff at another Nicklaus design Muirfield Village back in 2018 and there's around four of five tournaments this season that if he managed to repeat the standard he would win in this field comfortably.

I'm bullish about the winner coming from these front two, and An looks the stronger right now.

5pts WIN Byeong Hun An  9/1  Unibet, BetUK, Livescore

Nicolai Hojgaard at 20/1 (Six Places)

In a two pronged attack towards the top of the market I'm happy to have a bet on Nicolai Hojgaard who has shown plenty of positives these last few weeks and is a very dangerous operator if anywhere near back to his best.

That best saw him burst into life this time last year when he was second in the Nedbank then the winner the following week at the DP World Tour Championship.

Those heroics won't happen this time around but he does need a good week to get into the top 70 for the Abu Dhabi Championship in a few weeks.

Last week following an opening 73 he recovered to finish in the top 20, and was only a couple of shots worse off than Campillo over the final three days who made the playoff.

A top 20 in France now means six of his last eight rounds have been in the 60s and that's a huge positive for this time of year.

What has been missing these last few weeks is just putting it all together throughout the bag and for four rounds.

That may come now at this Nicklaus design where his length off the tee should be a huge help and the club that has hurt him the most recently, the putter, may be the least important club in the bag this week.

Nicolai is a sleeping giant and if either of the front two fail to deliver due to pressure of the home crowd then the Dane can capitalise.

2pts each-way N.Hojgaard  20/1  (1/5 6) General

Antione Rozner at 40/1 (Six Places)

David Law's only victory on tour came at the Vic Open where the wind blew strong and any deterioration with the weather could make him a strong candidate having hit the ball well lately.

With two of his three victories on tour coming in windy destinations thought I prefer Antione Rozner and he'll be my third and final bet this week in Incheon.

Guerrier winning last week may just give the French a spring in their step and it'd be no surprise should one or two of them fight out the finish here on Sunday.

Rozner looks the most likely though with wins in Qatar and Mauritius, and this looks a similar test to Mauritius in particular.

Rozner's ball striking these past few weeks in Spain and France has been superb, but the short game has let him down.

He may well need to scramble better this week but the putter may not be that big of a concern.

Jeong Weon Ko was another Frenchman who came close to making the staking plan but I'll stick to the above three.

1.25pts each-way A.Rozner  40/1  (1/5 6) Skybet