GOLF analyst Lewis Blain (@LewisBlainSport) shares his betting thoughts ahead of the CJ Cup from Nine Bridges.
CJ Cup | 17th-20th October 2019 | Sky Sports
The PGA Tour heads to Asia for a stretch of three straight tournaments, beginning in South Korea with the CJ Cup.
Nine Bridges on Jeju Island plays host having made its debut only two years ago. It's a dog-legged par 72 with fairly wide fairways where wind can have some input.
Key stats will include GIR, scrambling, ball-striking, par-5 scoring, and birdie or better %. Comps may look towards Sheshan International which is held in Asia, or maybe the WGC in Mexico for similar conditions while Augusta National and Trinity Forest take my interest too.
There's no cut and a limited field, hence a very tight market at the front of the betting.
Tommy Fleetwood (20/1 Betfair)
First up is the Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, it is hard to believe he's gone 20 months without a victory. Right now, he's in superb form, so that elusive PGA Tour victory is surely on the horizon.
Fleetwood has not missed a single cut this year and has four top-13s in his last five outings, and before then he picked up a T4 at the WGC and a 2nd in the Open. In 2017 he finished runner up in WGC-Mexico and at Sheshan International too.
Generally, he's always shown up in Asia. He's real close. It could well be this week.
Marc Leishman (25/1 Betfair)
2017's runner-up here Marc Leishman makes the staking plan – an obvious choice. He won the CIMB Classic last year and followed it up with a T18 round here.
As part of the Presidents Cup in a few months time, he will want to be in red hot form, and this presents a good opportunity to continue on what he has built so far – 3rd last time out at the Safeway was a good way to put any doubts to bed after his Greenbrier WD.
He also has aspirations to play in the Olympics, which is held in Japan coincidentally. He can help his cause this week.
Tyrell Hatton (50/1 Betfair)
Finally we run with another Englishman who will relish these conditions. Most previews of the course offer up some sort of description about the greens, with that being along the lines of big/slow/sloping – that reminds me a lot of links courses, which Hatton often turns up at.
He is a multiple winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links after all. He snuck into the top-15 round here last year after a slow start so that's a positive and he's in great nick with back-to-back top-20 finishes. He contended the 2018 WGC Mexico with Phil and JT, so he can put it up with the PGA big boys for sure.
Best Bets
CJ Cup – Tommy Fleetwood (20/1 each-way Betfair)
CJ Cup – Marc Leishman (25/1 each-way Betfair)
CJ Cup – Tyrell Hatton (50/1 each-way Betfair)
