Ben Coley previews the Volvo China Open at Enhance Anting GC, where Wenyi Ding and Haotong Li are among the local favourites.
Golf betting tips: Volvo China Open
No recommended bets
The DP World Tour begins its two-week stay in China at Enhance Anting GC, which as far as I can tell appears not to have hosted a tournament of any significance since it first opened some 20 years ago.
The last DP World Tour event was in India, at DLF, which is never likely to prove reliable as a form guide, so unique is that golf course. Although I should say there is a picture I’ve found of a rocky waterfall at Enhance Anting, so maybe there are some aesthetic similarities.
Since India, most players in this week’s field have been out of action. One of them, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, returns from a promising crack at the PGA Tour, where he so nearly won in Puerto Rico and then finished 22nd in Florida. Another, Keita Nakajima, has been runner-up on his last two appearances.
Among the local favourites is Wenyi Ding, whose form is rock-solid and who, all things being equal, appears ready to produce his best golf of the year so far. Perhaps he’s played here, too – though it is extremely difficult to comb through Chinese amateur form, let me tell you.
Haotong Li has a fine record in his national open and has held his form since winning in Qatar and these aren’t the only home players in with a chance. Zecheng Dhou, for instance, flies in from a solid run on the Korn Ferry Tour and might even find this easier.
But here’s the thing: there are two PGA Tour events this week, both at courses we know well, both with players who’ve been in action lately. Neither of them is likely to wake me up at 4am, which the China Open tends to, and neither requires the sort of guesswork which is necessary if you’re to land the winner.
Oh, and Rory McIlroy won the Masters on Sunday.
No bet.
Posted at 1700 BST on 14/04/25
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