Since The Beginning Of February

The DP World Tour returns today for the very first of the Asian Swing at the Hainan Classic in China.


Having made its trip bow 12 months back, a second course has been introduced, along with amateur players, however efficiency off the tee should still be a huge possession for those seeking to build on strong starts to the year.


Ian Wilkerson's Hainan Classic predictions


Angel Ayora
3pts each-way 9-1 Coral, Ladbrokes


Nathan Kimsey
1pt each-way 22-1 bet365


Grant Forrest
1pt each-way 30-1 bet365, BoyleSports


Ian Wilkerson's Hainan Classic preview


Top idea


Angel Ayora 9-1


Just one player worldwide's leading 100, South Africa's Thriston Lawrence, will be at this week's Hainan Classic, however Angel Ayora is hovering simply below that mark and he could seize his chance after a series of strong efficiencies.


The Spaniard looks a class above this sort of company and while he has yet to break his DP World Tour duck, his consistency suggests it is just a matter of time.


He was seventh at the Italian Open in June, and in his next 24 tournaments, he has 11 top-ten surfaces, which is standout kind at this level, and figures of 5-8-9-18 in his last 4 competitions suggest he is knocking on the door.


Ayora did not dip into Mission Hills last year when Marco Penge came out on top, however the data suggest he could be a good fit.


Penge was third in stroke-gained off the tee and eighth on method, so with Ayora ranked fifth and ninth in those metrics this year, the resemblances are clear.


He struck a 64 in his opening round last time at the Joburg Open, where his 18th may be considered as a slight dissatisfaction, but he looks well-equipped to recuperate.


With his technique abilities possibly being more important on the second course, the Vintage, providing a higher test of precision, don't be surprised if he comes to the fore and lastly gets over the line.


Next best bet


Nathan Kimsey 22-1


Nathan Kimsey is another player who heads into fight in great form, although his transformation has actually been more marked considering that he recovered from a pretty dismal 2025.


However, he got his act together to get through certifying school and has been taking advantage of his opportunities.


Since the start of February, he has ended up ninth in Bahrain, fifth in Kenya, ninth at the South African Open and 12th in Joburg, so confidence ought to not be an issue.


He makes his place launching however the player who is ranked 13th in the strokes-gained off-the-tee charts could discover the assessment to his taste.


Other choice


Grant Forrest 30-1


Grant Forrest is one gamer who has experience of this tournament, albeit when all 4 rounds were played on the Blackstone Course, having actually completed 23rd in 2015 and he ought to be confident that he can build on that.


The 32-year-old from Livingston won August's Nexo Championship and might work out relatively fresh.


He was 15th in Qatar in early February, having been seventh the week before in Bahrain, so his game looks to be in an excellent place.


Key statistics for Hainan Classic


♦ Marco Penge headed the greens-in-regulation stats on his way to success in 2015
♦ Just one Chinese player finished in the leading 30 in 2025
♦ Five of the leading 8 finishes last year were also in the leading eight for strokes-gained putting, including the winner


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Course guide for the Hainan Classic


Course Blackstone and Vintage Courses, Mission Hills, Hainan, China

Cash prize $2.55 m ($ 433,500 to the winner).

Length Blackstone - 7,637 yards, Vintage - 7,331 lawns.

Par Both 72 - 4 par-fives, ten par-fours, four par-threes.

Field 120 The cut Top half certify for last 2 rounds.

Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Thriston Lawrence (89 ), Angel Ayora (101 ), Andy Sullivan (110 ), Nacho Elvira (121 ), Dan Bradbury (125 ).

Course records - 18 holes - Blackstone 65 Marco Penge, Bowen Xiao, Conor Purcell (2025 ).

When to bet By 11.20 pm on Wednesday.

Time distinction Hainan is eight hours ahead of the UK and Ireland.

Course type Both parkland.

Course introduction This is the 2nd time Mission Hills has actually hosted the Hainan Classic and while all 4 rounds were played on the Blackstone Course in 2015, the Vintage Course will be utilized as well this time, so each of the 120 gamers will play both courses in the opening 2 days. This modification has actually enabled amateur gamers to be included and decreased the professional field to 120. The Blackstone has broad fairways and is the substantially longer of the 2, while the Vintage represents a different challenge with a lot of doglegs and blind shots to be worked out on the tree-lined track that is heavily bunkered.

Story of in 2015 Marco Penge kept his cool with a closing 67 to declare his very first DP World Tour success by a three-shot margin.

Weather report All 4 days are expected to be dry with temperatures peaking at about 30C.

Type of player suited to the difficulty Penge drove and putted well to come out on the top in 2015 and length off the tee is usually a key ability on Chinese courses. The Vintage is a bit more fiddly, but will only have actually to be browsed when.

Key attribute Power.


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