We’re in China this week where the challenging Sheshan International Golf Club plays host to the WGC-HSBC Champions for the 12th time in the last 13 years.
As ever a very strong field has assembled in Shanghai, including World Number One Dustin Johnson, defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, World Number Five Jon Rahm, and Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood, who is one of 39 European Tour members teeing it up this week.
As far as the course goes Sheshan International GC measures 7,261 yards and is a par 72 layout which has seen some very impressive scores in recent years. Three of the last four winners here have shot 20 under par or lower to prevail in China, so expect to see plenty of red numbers on that leaderboard.
With all that in mind, here’s who our statistics specialist believes could perform well.
Pick of the Favourites: Justin Rose
Four straight top tens in his last four worldwide starts see Justin Rose coming into this event in good form. The Englishman clearly enjoys playing at Sheshan as well, having posted two top ten finishes from his three visits to this course. Rose’s game travels well too, with the Olympic Champion having won European Tour events in eight different countries. Only six players in the field this week have a scoring average of below 70 at this Shanghai layout, with the 37 year old one of them having shot 25 under par for his 12 rounds here. Par five scoring is always very important at Sheshan International GC, which is another area where Rose has excelled at this season, with the nine time European Tour winner fourth on the European Tour in that category with a par five scoring average of 4.53. Everything seems to be pointing towards another good week for Rose this week.
Form Horse: Ross Fisher
Coming into this event on the back of two straight runner-up finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Italian Open, Ross Fisher’s game is clearly in a very good place, with the Englishman only being denied more European Tour glory thanks to the brilliance of Tyrrell Hatton. Ranking in the top 10 in the European Tour Scoring Average stats with a return of 70.35, it’s no surprise to see Fisher at the lofty position of fourth in the Race to Dubai Presented by Rolex Rankings. Playing well from tee to green is key at this week’s venue, and that has been no issue for the 36 year old in 2017, with Fisher in the top ten when it comes to Greens in Regulation, with a return of nearly 75 per cent in that vital category. One of the straightest hitters out there, it’s no surprise to see Fisher has performed well in each of his four visits to the WGC-HSBC Champions, especially in the last couple of years where he’s finished third and sixth respectively with a cumulative scoring total during that time of 31 under par.
Wildcard: Bernd Wiesberger
Always a contender at courses where ball-striking is important, the Austrian comes in under the radar this week, despite being 11th place in the Race to Dubai Presented by Rolex rankings. A top ten at the KLM Open might be Wiesberger's best result of late, but when it comes to performing well in China this season, few can match the four time European Tour winner in that regard, with the 32 year old having won the Shenzhen International in April, before finishing in a tie for fourth place at the Volvo China Open a week later. Bernd has finished under par in all three of his previous appearances at the WGC-HSBC Champions and has shot rounds in the 60s four times here. Wiesberger will be hoping for more Chinese inspiration this week.
Those are our three picks, now it's time to make yours. Pick your seven-man Daily Fantasy team for each round of this week's event and play in either free or money games.
