ISPS HANDA-CHAMPIONSHIP - Fantasy DP World Tour ones to watch

The DP World Tour breaks new ground this week as it hosts its first event in Japan at the ISPS HANDA - CHAMPIONSHIP.

An international field including four-time Major Champion Ernie Els, and a host of rising stars will combine with local favourites in the event co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organisation.

If you haven’t already, you can sign up to play the official 2023 DP World Tour Fantasy game and submit your six-man team before round one gets under way on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/

The 2023 season-long winner will win a trip to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next year, enjoy a lesson with a DP World Tour professional and a round of golf on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. For more information on this amazing prize and others, read here.

Favourite - Rasmus Højgaard

The Dane makes his comeback after 11 weeks without a worldwide start and he will be hoping to pick up where he left off after an impressive run of form. His second-placed finish at the Cazoo Open de France in September started a run of five top tens in ten starts, including a career-best finish in a Rolex Series event at the DP World Tour Championship. His 2023 season got off to a slow start in Australia and he missed the Hero Cup due to injury but he bounced back with a top 20 in Dubai before spending the entire week at the right end of the leaderboard in Ras Al Khaimah, eventually settling for a tie for sixth. He is currently in just under 57% of teams, making him the most selected player of the week so far.

Form Horse - Yannik Paul

The German is another who arrives well rested having taken nearly two months off following the Hero Indian Open but he left New Delhi sat inside the top three on the European Rankings for Luke Donald's Ryder Cup team. His second-placed finish - having led after days one, two and three - came hot on the heels of another runner-up place at the Thailand Classic so he is clearly comfortable playing in Asia. He claimed his maiden DP World Tour title at last season's Mallorca Golf Open and will be looking to continue a hot streak for his country, with Germans winning two of the last four regular DP World Tour events. Paul currently features in just under 33 per cent of teams and players seem to be waking up to his value, with his captaincy rate jumping from 0.13% in Thailand to 6.83% in India.

Wild Card - Ryo Hisatsune

It would not be unfair to assume that many followers of the DP World Tour did not know the name Ryo Hisatsune before the 2023 season started. The Japanese had missed the cut in his only Tour start to date but claimed the seventh card at the Qualifying School and then made a big impact, finishing second at the season-opening Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and making two more cuts in his first four starts. He got his calendar year on Tour under way with six consecutive birdies as he held the 18-hole lead in Ras Al Khaimah before securing a top ten in India and finishing third in Kenya. Hisatsune is averaging 131.75 points per event in Fantasy, an impressive return from four counting starts, and is currently in just over 12 per cent of teams for this week.

Looking back - The Masters Tournament

Jon Rahm will have been a popular winner of the Green Jacket at Augusta for Fantasy players, with the Spaniard featuring in 49.59% of teams and captaining 10.88%. Our Favourite - and clearly that of many others - Rory McIlroy featured in a staggering 62.06% of squads but missed the cut along with our Wild Card Corey Conners. There was some joy to be had with our Form Horse, however, as defending champion Scottie Scheffler registered a top ten for 51.67% of players.

2023 DP World Tour Fantasy player rankings