The Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort Club this week sees the DP World Tour make its return to the South East Asian nation for the first time in nine years this week.
There is no defending champion due it being a brand-new event on the schedule, with 2023 season winners Dan Bradbury, Thriston Lawrence and Ockie Strydom in the field.
If you have not done so 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 - Ryan Fox
The New Zealander has been selected by almost 55 per cent of players so far this week which comes as little surprise as the three-time DP World Tour winner is the highest-ranked player in the field. Fox has made the cut in each of his first three events of the season, improving his performance week-by-week. Three sub-70 rounds in Ras Al Khaimah at Al Hamra Golf Club helped the World Number 30 finish in a tie for 11th last week - his best result of the new campaign. Two weeks on from being presented with the 2022 Seve Ballesteros Award - the accolade given to the man voted Player of the Year by his fellow professionals on the DP World Tour - he will now be looking to make his first professional appearance on Singaporean soil a winning one.
Form horse – Adri Arnaus
The Spaniard was studying at Texas A&M University when the Tour last visited Singapore in 2014 so like many in the field this week will not have course knowledge to count on. However, he does arrive in South East Asia after two strong showings during the Desert Swing, following up a top 15 finish at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic with a tie for sixth last time out at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship. For that reason, it is perhaps no surprise that he is the third most picked player so far this week with almost 50% of players selecting him. The 29-year-old won his maiden DP World Tour title at the Catalunya Championship last year and boasts impressive distance off the tee – something that could prove invaluable with three par fives alone on the back nine at Laguna National.
Wild card – Taiga Semikawa
Just four months into his professional career, the Japanese golfer is set for his DP World Tour debut after already appearing three times on the PGA TOUR this year. He made history last year by becoming the first amateur to win the Japan Open in its 95-year history, carding a third-round 63 on his way to a two-shot victory. His success on home soil was his third consecutive title at a professional event and secured him exemption into next year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in the process. He made the cut at both the Sony Open in Hawaii and at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines but now returns closer to his home country for the first of back-to-back events in the Far East, with the 22-year-old also due to play at the Thailand Classic next week. After amateur duo Michael Thorbjornsen and Ludvig Aberg both impressed at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, could another young star of the men’s game contend this week?
