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Volvo China Open Preview, Picks & Analysis

By: Golfshake Editor | Mon 25 Apr 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


CAN there possibly be a more impressive venue for a golf tournament than the Topwin Golf and Country Club, which will host the Volvo China Open in the shadow of the Great Wall of China? The course is in the Chinese capital of Beijing, so expect massive galleries to line the fairways, all hoping to cheer a home golfer to victory.

This is the 22nd time the tournament has been played and it features golfers from 28 countries, with 13 of the world's top 100 players taking part. It goes without saying that some decent golfers have won this title, but there have also been some surprise winners, none more so than last year, when the champion was indeed a Chinese golfer, Ashun Wu. Previous winners include Paul Casey (2006), YE Yang (2010), Nicolas Colsaerts (2011), Branden Grace (2012), Brett Rumford (2013), and Alexander Levy (2014). This part of the world tends to be a bit "horses for courses", so it would be no great surprise to see a couple of these names in the frame again.

Topwin is a par 72, measuring just over 7,200 yards. And the tournament is likely to be won and lost over the finishing streth. The 15th hole is a reachable par four measuring 327 yards, the 16th is a 212-yard par three, the 17th is a 478-yard par four and the course closes with a 580-yard par five. It is perfectly feasible to finish eagle, birdie, birdie, and eagle but miscue your drive at the 15th and a double-bogey can easily result, and just about any score is possible on the 18th.

Bernd Weisberger, Victor Dubuisson and Kiradech Aphibarnrat all played in The Masters and have made the trip to China. For Weisberger in particular, this is a big week. He is Austria's most successful golfer of all time, with three wins on the European Tour, but his sights are set rather higher than that. This is a golfer who wants to make Europe's Ryder Cup team, believes he is good enough to win a major and is chomping at the bit to play at the Olympic Games in Rio.

“I am really looking forward to playing the Volvo China Open – I have not played the event in seven years so it will be great to see how it has grown as a tournament since 2009," said the Austrian."I have had a pretty good record in China in recent years and it is a place I always enjoy visiting. Beijing is such a vibrant city, it’s always an exciting place to be and I have heard Topwin Golf and Country Club is very close to the Great Wall of China so it will be a really cool experience to see that. 

“My form this year has been steady but I am really keen to push for more titles heading into the summer and hopefully I can do that in Beijing by claiming my first victory on Chinese soil.”

Dubuisson remains one of the most enigmatic players on the European Tour. He is a golfer who is capable of producing stunning bursts of scoring but is just as capable of losing interest - and he can be very hard on himself. His temper tantrum at the WGC-Cadillac championship at Doral in March) was something to behold and involved him throwing a ball away, attacking his golf bag, first with a club and then with his foot, and then smacking his legs with a club. If you saw it, you must have felt his pain. He has come close to winning this tournament before, but your correspondent is not convinced that he is in the best frame of mind to contend this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNpJ1Vrq4Fw

So if Dubuisson won't win it, who might?

Levy and Rumford are as good bets as anybody. Rumford has finally fully recovered from a series of injuries and has recently looked like the player we all know he can be. He is a former winner and he adores playing in Asia. For Levy, it is to be hoped that a return to China will reignite a flame that has been flickering again of late.

Joost Luiten cannot possibly continue playing the way he is right now without winning. The Dutchman is one of the best putters on the European Tour, and scarcely missed anything he looked at during the Shenzhen International. He really is a terribly impressive golfer who should have won a bucketful of tournaments. He has suffered several niggling injuries but is in the form of his llfe right now, and will console himself with the knowledge that Korea's Soomin Lee cannot possibly play as well again as he did last week, when he played the first 52 holes without dropping a shot before coming off the rails with a double-bogey seven at the 17th hole in the third round.

Lee looked incredibly impressive. He has a wonderful rhythm, never seems to miss a fairway and when he fails to hit the green in regulation, his short game comes to his rescue. He showed a real calm in what was only his sixth European Tour event, although he had already enjoyed a a second and a third-place finish.

Alvaro Quiros will be the first to admit that his career has not reached the heights it once seemed destined to reach. This is chiefly due to his struggles with injury. But the big-hitting Spaniard has been working hard on his game, implementing several swing changes, and there are signs that things are beginning to come together for this popular golfer. He has suffered enough - hopefully the golfing gods have decided the time has come to smile on him. It is about time.

Thorbjorn Olesen is a similar sort of player to Dubuisson - he can be brilliant or he can be utterly average. Unlike the Frenchman, however, Olesen has a fine temperament and is on a decent run of form that will soon translate itself to another victory. My gut feeling is that Olesen, Lee and Luiten will be battling it out for the trophy in the shadow of the Great Wall.

To Win

Joost Luiten. Long overdue another win

Each Way

Thorbjorn Olesen. Capable of bursts of brilliant scoring

Each Way

Soomin Lee. Swings the club beautifully

Fantasy Picks

Joost Luiten. A Dutch master

Thorbjorn Olesen. Look out if he putts well.

Soomin Lee. The next big thing from Asia - guaranteed

Alvaro Quiros. Give the big guy a break

Peter Uihlein. Good to see him playing well again

David Lipsky. American who is right at home in this part of the world

Brandon Stone. A joy to behold

Raphael Jacquelin. Languid swing, great temperament

Tyrrell Hatton. Has gone quiet for the Englishman of late

Tommy Fleetwood. Come on Tommy, for goodness sake


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Tags: european tour



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