Palmer to prevail when PGA Tour heads to China for WGC-HSBC
Published:The World Golf Championships’ HSBC Champions event has always been a low-scorer. The winning total has been lower than 15 under par in each of the last five editions, with the last three all seeing the victor register four-round scores of 20 under or better.
So, when perusing the field for the 2014/15 version, which Justin Rose leads as a 10/1 chance, it’s imperative to find someone who is not only in form but has the ability to go low too.
One such man is the 40/1-rated Ryan Palmer, who combines both criteria so well it’s possible that his price should be half that currently listed.
His history with the event is zero, thanks to this being an exclusively European Tour event until it joined the PGA Tour’s calendar last year, but his current run of results is impressive enough to help banish his lacking record at the Sheshan Golf Club.
Over the course of the last seven starts, the Texan has landed in the top 10 on four occasions and finished inside the top 20 in the other two.
His last two appearances have both been on the European circuit, where an 11-under-par total saw him share 14th place at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, followed by a tied-eighth finish at the BMW Masters where he registered -13 on his accumulative scorecard.
Then there’s his love of low scoring. During the 2013/14 season on the PGA, Palmer’s scoring average of 70.06 put him an impressive 10th among his competitors, while his pre-cut mark of 69.54 bumps him up to fourth.
His tendency is to fall away over the last two rounds (although that hasn’t been the case of late) so the 40/1 on him leading after the opening 18 holes of the tournament is another wise investment.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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