Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- WGC HSBC

OVERVIEW
The third installment in the Asian Swing begins this week as the players hop on a jet to China for the WGC HSBC Champions. There’s no Dustin Johnson in the field this week, so we’ll probably have to wait until Kapalua to see him, but those that are here are some of the better players in the game of golf. Sheshan International is a parkland style course with undulating, Paspalum fairways (think South African courses, not South African players – this narrative is all but dead now). Water comes into play on eleven holes, but the course’s primary defense is the thick rough and green bunkering. The greens are some of the best in the world as far as condition goes (not THE best, but they’re in the Top 10 discussion), but they’re tough in that they’re raised and have some pretty difficult run-offs which can come into play when spinning approach shots hit these receptive greens. If you can keep your approach shots on the green, you should be able to score well here so my plan is to target players who seem to be in control of not only their distance control, but also those who don’t spin their approaches a ton (I know they all can do whatever they want on command, but some players spin it way more than they need to on a consistent basis).

TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND

o The Course
• Sheshan International Golf Club
• Par 72
• 7,200 yards
• Bentgrass greens
o Location: China
o Corollary Courses/Performances: Nine Bridges (CJ Cup)
o Past Champions:
• 2018: Xander Schauffele -14 in a playoff over Tony Finau
• 2017: Justin Rose -14 over Henrik Stenson, Brooks Koepka, & Dustin Johnson
• 2016: Hideki Matsuyama -23 over Daniel Berger & Henrik Stenson
• 2015: Russell Knox -20 over Kevin Kisner

KEY STATS TO TARGET

o Strong Emphasis – SG: APP, Birdies or Better, Par 5 Scoring
o Important – Par 4 Scoring 450-500 yards, APP 125-175 yards, Scrambling

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