DP World Tour golf tips: Nicolai Hojgaard can shine in Thailand Classic

Martin ColwellMartin Colwell15 February 2023
Nicolai Hojgaard

Nicolai Hojgaard

Ahead of the Thailand Classic, Tipstrr's golf pundit Martin Colwell has been looking at which players carry the best betting value into the latest DP World Tour event.

The DP World Tour returns to Thailand for the first time since 2016, with this week's visit to Amata Spring Country Club, not far from Bangkok, where the players can expect to be playing in hot temperatures approaching the low nineties.
A par 72 and 7,505 yards in length, the course's stand out feature (or should we say gimmick) is the 17th green, which floats and is only accessible by boat!
Distance off of the tee seems key here, and we can expect the driver to see plenty of use this week. The only real issue is that the greens are heavily bunkered and so accurate approach play is key.

No further rain is expected, but recent weather conditions should make the course receptive, and a low score is likely to be required to be in contention on Sunday.

Joint favourites at present, hovering around the 16/1 to 20/1 mark, include Jordan Smith, Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard.

Jordan Smith can usually be found around the top of the betting for these weakened field tournaments, and while I see him as a top ten contender, it's hard to see him as a winner.

MacIntyre has a lot of talent but tends to do better on tougher strategic courses, which this is not. 

Of the three market leaders, I prefer Hojgaard, whose good recent form can outweigh his inconsistencies - he is long off the tee and his lack of accuracy should not be too much of a burden here.
At around 22/1, I can see the argument for Antoine Rozner, who finished sixth last week and his strong greens in regulation (GIR) figures is a nice fit with this course.
At the same price, Thorbjorn Olesen has been in better form, and in recent times he has not looked like winning, even in weakened fields, so I do not see much value there.

Others to consider:

Marcus Helligkilde remains a tour maiden, but is long off the tee, likes low scoring courses and has found some form recently. The question is can he get over the line and win on a Sunday? We do not know, but 33/1 with extra each-way places places looks reasonable.

Marcel Schneider is another who is in good recent form and sitting in the 28/1 to 33/1 range. He was in contention last Sunday in Singapore and played well enough, before being overtaken by some low-scoring finishers.

The Scot, Grant Forrest, has been in good recent form, and although more of a top ten finish selection in these tournaments, he could pop up in this field at 55/1.

There is some some 66/1 about for Shubanker Sharma, but even at a general 55/1 he looks enticing. He was a seventh-place finisher in Abu Dhabi and twelfth last time out in the Saudi International, and similar efforts could be good enough to contend this week.

Also at 66/1 is Dan Bradbury, who won on his first official start on tour in South Africa in 2022. The Englishman is long off the tee and in decent form, if he can avoid the odd bad round that could put him out of contention.

And finally, one at big odds for those who love an outsider. Nick Bachem was contending a few weeks back, but after a dip in form has drifted out to 250/1 in places. If he has got his game back this week, then hisodds look very juicy.