Englishman Daniel Gavins nearly gave away his second DP World Tour victory last weekend at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship. He hit two balls into the water on the par-5 18th before holing a putt from 25 feet for double bogey to win by one stroke over Alexander Bjork and Zander Lombard.
This week, the DP World Tour returns to Singapore for the first time since 2014 for the inaugural Singapore Classic.
Robert MacIntyre is the favorite on the board at 16-1. Jordan Smith and Ryan Fox follow at 18-1. Last week's runner-up Alexander Bjork (25-1) posted a bogey on 18 when a par would have gotten him into a playoff.
The Course
There are two courses at the Laguna National resort in Singapore, the Masters Course — which hosted the Singapore Open on the European Tour until 2007, then the Championship at Laguna National in 2014 — and the Classic Course, which is our venue for this week’s event.
The Classic Course at Laguna National — nicknamed “The Beast” by locals — was designed in 1993 by Andy Dye (nephew of renowned architect Pete) and has undergone a few renovations since.
The hilly Classic Course will play as a par-72 at 7,420 yards with 10 par-4s, four par-5s — of which three come on the back nine, including the closing hole — and four par-3s.
January’s monsoon will have allowed the rough to grow thick and fast, and five imposing lakes and water features are ready to gobble up any errant play. Paspalum grass has been used from tee to the green surrounds, with the putting surfaces being Bermudagrass.
The course itself is big and bold. The undulating fairways are generous, with the large, multi-tiered greens severely sloped and could be the most demanding part of the course. Both are protected by a huge amount of sand, with large, deep bunkers and lengthy, sandy waste areas throughout, while there is water in play on roughly half the holes to provide more danger.
The four par-5s include the 558-yard third and the 534-yard 18th, both of which should be reachable for all, though they are countered by two more demanding ones back-to-back on holes 13 and 14, measuring 591 and 616 yards, respectively.
The par-4s offer great variety; three at 470+ yards, with five at sub-425 yards. The par-3s look challenging, including the 184-yard 17th hole, which plays to an island green reminiscent of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass.
Selections
Adrian Otaegui (27-1, Boyd Sports)
A six-stroke victory at Valderrama in October was Otaegui's fourth at DP World Tour level and he now sits within reach of the OWGR top 50 with the lure of a Masters invitation still on the table if he can sneak inside that level by the beginning of April.
The Spaniard made all three cuts in the swing through the Emirates and could fare well in a lower-graded field.
He rates fifth on the DPWT for Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
Adri Arnaus (28-1, DraftKings)
Arnaus finished 13th two weeks ago at the Dubai Desert Classic and rated second that week for Strokes Gained: Putting.
He improved further last week, finishing sixth in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship where he rated seventh on Approach and 18th Off The Tee.
Johannes Veerman (33-1, BetRivers)
American Veerman's mother is from Thailand, and he spent more than a decade of his youth living in the Philippines, Thailand, China and Indonesia before beginning his professional career on the Asian Development Tour.
He finished T-8 in Dubai and T-19 last week in Ras Al Khaimah and has plenty of experience playing in Asia.
Julien Brun (50-1, DraftKings)
Brun has two top-5s in his last four starts.