TCL Classic

FINAL RESULT: 1-2; -1.00pts

Bjorn 3rd
Randhawa mc
Liang 48th

Same as Karlsson last week ... could easily be happy or frustrated that Bjorn finished 3rd, but probably finished up as relieved. The reason: he had a quadruple-bogey 7 on the 3rd hole of his final round. So from starting in 4th place and just one shot out of the lead, he looked dead and buried. But he then he shot 10-under-par for the remaining 15 holes and finished just one shot out of the playoff. Great fightback, but what might have been!

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Thomas Bjorn to win 12/1 e.w. @ William Hill, Victor Chandler and Ladbrokes
Monty may be the form player to beat this week, but Bjorn's record in this region is much more impressive. From the Hong Kong Open in 2003 to the Caltex Masters in January, Bjorn played in five co-sanctioned events with the Asian PGA Tour and finished in the top-four every time! He looked set to continue that trend in Malaysia last month, but followed his opening 68-64 with 73-77 over the weekend. Rested last week unlike many in this field, he looks a realistic bet to better his 2nd place finish in the China Open last December.

Jyoti Randhawa to win 20/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet, Sporting Odds, Ladbrokes and BetFred
No doubting Randhawa's form either. In his last eleven Asian PGA Tour events, he has finished in the top-3 on six occasions and that includes last month's co-sanctioned Malaysian Open. He did play last week in Qatar which is a negative, but having followed his 2nd place finish in Malaysia with finishes of 11th in Dubai and 12th in Qatar, he is clearly more than capable of beating much better European Tour fields than the one on view this week.

Wen-Chong Liang to win 33/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
Liang has played in only two events this season and they were both co-sanctioned events with the European Tour and he finished in the top-10 both times. So with a 3rd place finish in the inaugural TCL Classic in 2002 and a 3rd place finish on this course in the Sanya Open, which gives him an important course edge over most of the leading players this week, it is rather surprising that China's top-ranked player is any higher than 25/1.