Louis Oosthuizen’s victory was our second successful prediction of 2012 and we’ve queued up another handful of hopefuls looking to give a boost to your
European Tour Fantasy Race team
this week.
With the Volvo China Open heading to a new venue – Binhai Lake GC – it should prove a tough layout for the players at over 7,600 yards, especially when you consider that the course is incredibly exposed to the elements. Bearing this in mind we have another fine selection of form horses, long ball hitters and men who like to tough it out in the wind and rain for you to choose from.
First up and clearly falling into the form horse category is
Peter Hanson
who, having come so close at the Masters Tournament two weeks ago, will be looking to follow in the footsteps of last week’s winner Louis Oosthuizen in bouncing back with a win this week. So far 2012 has already been a great year for the Swede, having finished at every position in the top five other than first. He also has a nice little run of results going that has seen him finish fifth, fourth and third in his last three events, meaning he is bound to finish at least second this week in China. He has not won since his 2010 double at the Czech Open and Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca, and if he were to add to his other two victories and make this week number five, it would be no surprise to anyone.
Another man heading east and in the form of his career is Welshman
Jamie Donaldson
who having not yet won on The European Tour has shown a real resurgence in form the past 12 months. This was proved by his 11 top 13 finishes in 2011, a career best Race to Dubai ranking of 38th, and a maiden Vivendi Seve Trophy appearance. This season has yielded similar form so far, as evident in his stunning Sunday 61 at the Trophée Hassan II, which included three eagles, and saw the 37 year old eight under through as many holes to start the round. Cries of 59 were inevitable, and while a bogey on his back nine halted that charge, it was a fine round of golf and proof that a win could just be around the corner for the man from Macclesfield. He again went low in the first round the following week in Sicily, and after a two week break, this could very well be Donaldson’s time to pick up his first European Tour title.
Pablo Larrazábal
burst onto the scene in 2008 with his stunning ALSTOM Open de France victory, having had to pre-qualify the previous week, and since then his play has continued to be thrilling to watch. He can blow a little hot and cold at times, but his second career win came thanks to some truly sizzling play, en route to a marathon play-off victory over childhood idol and compatriot Sergio Garcia at the BMW International Open. Thanks to this win, and some more fine form that included ten top 11s, the Spaniard posted a best Race to Dubai ranking of 17th in 2011 and it is thanks to this, and some continued fine play in 2012, that he could be an outside bet for Ryder Cup qualification in September. With this in mind, alongside his ability to shape and move his ball in the air, he certainly has the game to tame Binhai Lake GC.
Finally, last season proved to be a breakout year for
Alexander Noren
picking up two titles in close proximity over the summer, his second and third on The Tour, the icing on the cake coming back home in Sweden at the Nordea Masters. It was a commanding performance on a course he knew well but, in at times horrendous conditions that saw scores balloon into the 80s, Noren hung tough to eventually win by seven thanks to a Saturday 63 that was up there as one of the rounds of the season. So far this year has been a little quieter, with his best finish being a tie for 16th at the Volvo Golf Champions, but as another player looking to make an outside run at Ryder Cup qualification a big week here would really kick start his year and his hopes of making it to Medinah.
As always if these four don’t get your managerial juices flowing then we have a few others that you might consider picking, the first of which being Paul Casey and Ian Poulter. The former won this event in 2006 and will be looking to kick start his comeback from injury, while the latter will be keen to build on a top performance at Augusta and get his Ryder Cup campaign into top gear.
Outside of these two Edoardo Molinari, Jbe’ Kruger and perhaps Chris Wood might be more your cup of tea, but either way, make sure to log in to
My European Tour
and update your
Fantasy Race to Dubai
team today.
