The European Tour heads to the Far East for the first time in the calendar year for the third edition of the Maybank Championship. Saujana Golf & Country Club plays host and offers an altogether different test to the one faced by the players in the desert last week. Nicknamed ‘The Cobra’, Saujana’s ravines and tightly-packed palm trees pose a genuine challenge to any field.
This is the second time Saujana has hosted the tournament, with Fabrizio Zanotti winning with a score of 19 under par last season. Temperatures are expected to exceed 30 degrees this week, adding another layer of complexity to matters in Malaysia.
Our stats guru has scoured the form book to find three players worthy of inclusion in your Fantasy team this week.
Favourite: Bernd Wiesberger
Malaysia has proved a home away from home for Bernd Wiesberger. The Vienna native’s last five visits have resulted in three top threes and two EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM titles. Wiesberger’s third place finish in this event last year was his first competitive tournament at Saujana and he made headlines with a run of nine consecutive birdies during the second round. Back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2014 and 2015 add weight to his favourites tag.
Wiesberger earned 1½ points for Europe during the team’s victory at the EurAsia Cup earlier this month at Glenmarie G&CC, located a short walk from Saujana. He has also enjoyed other strong finishes in Asia recently, including a win at the Shenzhen International last season and ties for ninth and fourth at the WGC-HSBC Champions and Volvo China Open, respectively. He arrives in Kuala Lumpur on the back of a solid week at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, posting four sub-par rounds, and will be confident of performing well in Asia once again.
Form horse: Chris Paisley
It’s been a three-week stretch that Chris Paisley will never forget. The 31 year old finished 112th in the Race to Dubai Rankings last season, but has started the 2018 season in blistering form with a first victory and two top fives the standout results. He finished three clear of Branden Grace, backed by a vocal South African crowd, to win the BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni three weeks ago. The good vibes continued into the Desert Swing, where he secured back-to-back top five finishes in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai to climb the Rankings.
Paisley opened with a 65 at Emirates Golf Club last week and now has ten sub-70 rounds in his last 12 rounds. He is also an impressive 55 under par in his last three events and will aim to carry his striking form onto a course he has room for improvement on, having finished tied for 41st last season. Everything seems to be coming together for the Englishman, though, and another fine week may be in the offing.
Wildcard: Jorge Campillo
With four of this season’s winners triumphing for the first time on tour, there is reason for guys like Jorge Campillo to take heart. A fourth placed finish in this event in 2016, albeit on a different course, will give him confidence he can compete in the challenging temperatures in Kuala Lumpur, known for its stifling heat. The man from western Spain has made a solid start to this season, too, achieving back-to-back finishes inside the top 15 in South Africa and Abu Dhabi.
He has recent good form in Asia, too, securing two top tens at the Volvo China Open and UBS Hong Kong Open last season. There are reasons, then, for Campillo to feel he can challenge for a first title on Tour in a continent he has proven he can perform in.
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