Since The Beginning Of February

The DP World Tour returns this week for the first tournament of the Asian Swing at the Hainan Classic in China.


Having made its trip bow 12 months back, a 2nd course has been presented, in addition to amateur players, however proficiency off the tee ought to still be a big property for those seeking to build on strong starts to the year.


Ian Wilkerson's Hainan Classic predictions


Angel Ayora
3pts each-way 9-1 Coral, Ladbrokes


Nathan Kimsey
1pt each-way 22-1 bet365


Grant Forrest
1pt each-way 30-1 bet365, BoyleSports


Ian Wilkerson's Hainan Classic preview


Top suggestion


Angel Ayora 9-1


Just one player on the planet's leading 100, South Africa's Thriston Lawrence, will be at today's Hainan Classic, however Angel Ayora is hovering just listed below that mark and he might seize his opportunity after a series of strong performances.


The Spaniard looks a class above this sort of company and while he has yet to break his DP World Tour duck, his consistency suggests it is only a matter of time.


He was seventh at the Italian Open in June, and in his next 24 tournaments, he has 11 top-ten surfaces, which is standout kind at this level, and figures of 5-8-9-18 in his last four tournaments recommend he is knocking on the door.


Ayora did not play at Mission Hills last year when Marco Penge came out on top, but the stats recommend he could be a great fit.


Penge was 3rd in stroke-gained off the tee and 8th on approach, so with Ayora ranked fifth and ninth in those metrics this year, the resemblances are clear.


He struck a 64 in his opening round last time at the Joburg Open, where his 18th may be seen as a minor frustration, but he looks well-equipped to bounce back.


With his technique skills possibly being more important on the second course, the Vintage, supplying a greater test of accuracy, do not be shocked if he comes forward and finally gets over the line.


Next finest bet


Nathan Kimsey 22-1


Nathan Kimsey is another gamer who heads into battle in fine form, although his improvement has been more marked since he recuperated from a quite dismal 2025.


However, he got his act together to get through certifying school and has been making the many of his chances.


Since the beginning of February, he has actually completed ninth in Bahrain, fifth in Kenya, ninth at the South African Open and 12th in Joburg, so confidence must not be an issue.


He makes his place debut however the player who is ranked 13th in the strokes-gained off-the-tee charts could discover the assessment to his taste.


Other choice


Grant Forrest 30-1


Grant Forrest is one gamer who has experience of this tournament, albeit when all four rounds were played on the Blackstone Course, having actually finished 23rd last year and he need to be confident that he can build on that.


The 32-year-old from Livingston won August's Nexo and might go well reasonably fresh.


He was 15th in Qatar in early February, having actually been seventh the week before in Bahrain, so his video game looks to be in an excellent location.


Key stats for Hainan Classic


♦ Marco Penge headed the greens-in-regulation data on his way to triumph last year
♦ Just one Chinese player completed in the top 30 in 2025
♦ Five of the leading 8 surfaces in 2015 were likewise in the top 8 for strokes-gained putting, consisting of the winner


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Course guide for the Hainan Classic


Course Blackstone and Vintage Courses, Mission Hills, Hainan, China

Prize cash $2.55 m ($ 433,500 to the winner).

Length Blackstone - 7,637 yards, Vintage - 7,331 lawns.

Par Both 72 - 4 par-fives, ten par-fours, 4 par-threes.

Field 120 The cut Top half receive last 2 rounds.

Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Thriston Lawrence (89 ), Angel Ayora (101 ), Andy Sullivan (110 ), Nacho Elvira (121 ), Dan Bradbury (125 ).

Course records - 18 holes - Blackstone 65 Marco Penge, Bowen Xiao, Conor Purcell (2025 ).

When to bet By 11.20 pm on Wednesday.

Time distinction Hainan is 8 hours ahead of the UK and Ireland.

Course type Both parkland.

Course summary This is the 2nd time Mission Hills has actually hosted the Hainan Classic and while all 4 rounds were played on the Blackstone Course last year, the Vintage Course will be utilized as well this time, so each of the 120 gamers will play both courses in the opening two days. This change has made it possible for amateur players to be included and reduced the expert field to 120. The Blackstone has large fairways and is the considerably longer of the 2, while the Vintage represents a different obstacle with a lot of doglegs and blind shots to be worked out on the tree-lined track that is greatly bunkered.

Story of in 2015 Marco Penge kept his cool with a closing 67 to claim his first DP World Tour success by a three-shot margin.

Weather report All 4 days are expected to be dry with temperature levels peaking at about 30C.

Kind of gamer matched to the difficulty Penge drove and putted well to come out on the top in 2015 and length off the tee is normally an essential ability on Chinese courses. The Vintage is a bit more fiddly, but will only have to be browsed as soon as.

Key quality Power.


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