In about a couple of days, the PGA Tour will welcome arguably its grandest tournament so far in the young 2015-16 season. The World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions tournament will feature more of the Tour’s top-ranked players than what we’ve seen from earlier events this renewed campaign.
And with such a deep pool of contenders, it would be a wise move to consult the experts around the web on who they also believe will win at Sheshan this weekend before punching in your wagers with your bookie.
Let’s take a look below at how some of the pundits have weighed in for the showdown in Shanghai. Afterwards, head on over to our complete preview as well as our sleeper picks to round out your WGC-HSBC Champions review session.
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Experts Picks and Predictions for the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions
Sporting Life
Expert
Pick
Ben Coley
Rory McIlroy
[sc:Golf240banner ]Ben Coley of Sporting Life – an affiliate of Europe’s Sky Sports network – needed just one prediction heading into Thursday’s tee time, and that’s none other than the resurgent Rory McIlroy.
Coley stated that McIlroy’s sixth-place finish in this past weekend’s Turkish Airlines Open was far from dominant, and is also doubtful about the Irishman’s ability to finally kick his game into high gear. But still, McIlroy personally calling Sheshan International as one of his “favourite venues of the year” is music to any wise betting man’s ears.
Coley also stated that McIlroy will benefit greatly from the absence of scorching-hot Jason Day and dangerous Justin Rose in his tournament. That leaves Jordan Spieth as Rory’s most formidable adversary on the course. But with Spieth entering just his first tournament of the new season, rusty play from the 2014-15 FedEx Cup winner may very well be enough for McIlroy to bring home the bacon.
Sportal
Expert
Pick 1
Pick 2
Pick 3
Pick 4
Pick 5
Sportal
Jordan Spieth
Rory McIlroy
Bubba Watson
Adam Scott
Kevin Na
Speaking of Jordan Spieth, Sportal – a notable New Zealand-based sporting blog – considers Spieth’s one-month absence since the end of the previous PGA season to be a catalyst rather than a crutch. With Jason Day not competing in this year’s WGC-HSBC Champions, Spieth’s will be totally driven right away to reclaim his spot as the alpha male in the Official World Golf Rankings from Day.
Sportal’s next two choices are no-brainers in McIlroy and defending Sheshan champ Bubba Watson, but the site is also high on a couple of international stars in Adam Scott and Kevin Na that have impressed (but have also ultimately come up short at a victory) early on this season.
Scott just finished lone in second at this past weekend CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, while Na has two runners-up finishes and one at third place this season already. The site believes that either of these two golfers is due for a win, and both are just shades behind the elite before them in capturing a win in Sheshan.
Rotoworld
Expert
Pick 1
Pick 2
Pick 3
Pick 4
Pick 5
Dave Tindall
Rory McIlroy
Henrik Stenson
Shane Lowry
Martin Kaymer
Sergio Garcia
Last but not the least, Dave Tindall of NBC’s Rotoworld didn’t buck the trend of selecting McIlroy as his overall favorite, but did round out his predictions rather unconventionally by going with the likes of Henrik Stenson, Shane Lowry, Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia – players that are not normally selected by pundits in recent tournaments.
Tindall believed that both Stenson and Garcia, who are coming off disappointing finishes at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, look ready to bounce back from that rough outing. The latter, Garcia, already won in this tournament back in 2008, and so has Martin Kaymer (2011). That gives the Spaniard and the German an edge above the rest in terms of winning experience in Sheshan.
As for Lowry, Tindall is banking on the Irishman’s strong scrambling game to come out on the course. To boot, Lowry is also the streakiest golfer between the four sleepers, having finished in the top 10 in his past two starts: runner-up at the British Masters and tied for eighth at the Turkish Airlines Open just this past weekend.
Do you agree with the experts here that are heavily-favoring a win for McIlroy? Why not create a betting account now and put your very own prediction for the WGC-HSBC Champions to the test?
