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Malaysian Open betting guide

Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Paul Krishnamurty
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14/1 Thongchai Jaidee for the Malaysian Open

Malaysian Open betting guide

Fresh from a week off and the ‘Middle-East Swing’, the European Tour returns to the scene of its first ever co-sanctioned event with the Asian Tour. In the decade since the Malaysian Open made its debut as the sole Asian trip on the schedule, that trend has accelerated, with seven Far East events now part of the Race to Dubai.

However, while most of these Asian events manage to attract several top names, this field is notably lacking in strength in depth. With one exception. World No.11, and potential No.1, Anthony Kim must have been offered a small fortune in appearance money to interrupt his PGA Tour plans, and he represents a different league of golfer to any of the opposition. The only other player in the world’s top-50 is SHINGO KATAYAMA, and while the Japanese star is one of this week’s selections, his form outside his homeland is hardly comparable.

My first instinct upon seeing the 13/2 available about Kim was that it represented fair value. After all, he’s not that much bigger against world-class fields in the States. A repetition of the form shown for his runners-up spot at the season-opening Mercedes, his pair of 3rd placings during the Fedex Cup play-offs, his Ryder Cup performance or either of his two 2008 titles, would make Kim a certainty in this company.

However, having pulled out of the Bob Hope Classic with a shoulder injury and missed his next cut, Kim has plenty of questions to answer this week. And then there’s the course; a positional layout with tight, undulating fairways and penal rough. That points to long game accuracy as the key to success at Saujana, and the stats suggest that’s Kim’s weakness. He ranks outside the top-100 in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation.

Seeing as odds this short could only ever make sense as a win only bet, preference is for a series of each-way selections, with plenty of place value around due to Kim‘s presence. For instance, clear second favourite THONGCHAI JAIDEE would surely be nowhere near the 14/1 on offer were the American not in the field. Jaidee won this event in consecutive years at this venue in 2004 and 2005, and won two more prestigious Asian titles as recently as December. Though he has recently been overtaken by Jeev Milkha Singh as the Asian Tour’s leading export, Thailand’s finest is still very much the best on show here.