Pair of 50/1 shots worthy of each-way love at Volvo China Open
Published:
The European Tour stays in China for another week following the Shenzhen International and there are plenty of claimants to the Volvo China Open crown at delightful prices.
Sharing a three-way tie for second favouritism at 20/1 is Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who makes the journey north to Shanghai looking for back-to-back wins, having scooped the Shenzhen trophy via a play-off with home favourite Li Hao-tong, also in tow at 40/1.
Piecing together successive European Tour victories is a particularly vexing task though, not achieved since Rory McIlroy last August, so the Thai golfer is up against it, statistically speaking at least, at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club.
Instead, as is often the case with the needle-in-haystack job of picking a tournament winner, it might pay handsome dividends to shimmy down the list of names and find some each-way gold.
Following this theory, these two gentlemen get the nod at fantastic odds:
Mikko Ilonen to win @ 50/1
The Finn won his fifth European Tour title at another Volvo sponsored event last season and he’ll know the China Open crown should already have swelled his impressive haul.
Ilonen’s game seems perfectly suited to the rigours of the par 72 layout, which rewards strong iron play, but punishes poor approaches with difficult, large putting surfaces the course’s signature.
The reigning Volvo World Matchplay champion tied for eighth 12 months ago, but was left to rue a final round 74, having carded 69, 68, 67 over 54 holes.
The theme of unfinished business is carried over from 2010, where he let a third-round lead slip to finish second, before another close-run thing ended in a tie for fourth.
Alvaro Quiroz to win @ 50/1
Length off the tee is rewarded at the 7,337 yard track and being one of the longest drivers on the European Tour, it clearly suits Quiroz.
The Spaniard showed more than just one facet of his game is in shape last week, though, where he sat ninth in GIR after 72 holes.
Quiroz also shot the lowest round of the week on Sunday at the Shenzhen, as his 63 catapulted him up the leaderboard to 15th.
That momentum, in conjunction with four top 25s in his last five starts, can carry Quiroz far around the course where he finished outright third last season.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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