We finished our 2018 PGA Tour season betting tips with a couple of great outings including backing Tiger Woods to win the PGA Tour Championship at $17! Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a winner in the Ryder Cup as the Europeans surprised many to claim a dominant win.
The golfing action doesn’t stop over the summer, however, as the Southern hemisphere now gets some love, most notably the Asian and Australian Tour seasons. This weekend will see the annual CIMB Classic played from Malaysia and once again it has attracted some big names. See our preview and tips for the event below.
2018 CIMB Classic Betting Tips
The Course
The CIMB Classic will be played at the TPC Kuala Lumpur for the sixth consecutive year this season dating back to when the tournament was officially sanctioned by the PGA Tour back in 2013. The course plays as a 7,005 par 72, making it one of the shorter courses which offers Fed Ex Cup points throughout the whole season.
Originally opened in 1991, the TPC Kuala Lumpur was completely redesigned and reopened in 2008. The course sits in the heart of a nature preserves and features tight fairways to compensate for the lack of overall length. Shots gained off the tee and shots gained on approach from around 100-125 yards will be paramount for me this weekend.
The Field
Justin Thomas is a two-time winner of the CIMB Classic and headlines the event in 2018 along with some other big names from the PGA Tour. Billy Horschel was a surprise third place finisher in the Fed Ex Cup a few weeks ago and will make the start in Malaysia while the rest of the PGA Tour hopefuls will be rounded out by Brandt Snedeker and Marc Leishman.
Tips
The favourites look extremely strong here. Justin Thomas was one of the only standouts in the Ryder Cup a few weeks ago, winning four of his five matches across the weekend. He was also the top ranked player on the PGA Tour in 2018 in greens in regulation from inside 125 yards. This will be a key statistic this weekend on the short course and if Thomas plays anything like he did a few weekends ago at the Ryder Cup, he should be tough to beat here.
Justin Thomas to win
$6.00
The other player that we really like this weekend is Billy Horschel. The American had a fantasitc finish to the 2018 PGA Tour season with a second place finish at the PGA Tour Championship which saw him finish 5th in the final Fed Ex Cup standings. The course in Kuala Lumpur should also suit him. Horschel was the 16th ranked player in shots gained off the tee in 2018, so his extra distance and accuracy should turn those 160-yard approach shots into extremely manageable 100-125 yard shots.
Billy Horschel to win
$15
