Genworth Stats Pack - Preview Report

Miguel Angel Jiménez has competed in this event 9 times before, arriving in steady form as a 3 time previous winner, the defending champion and the star attraction. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from that glorious victory last year, the 49 year old Spanish Maestro was very strong across the board, hitting 43/56 fairways and 56/72 Greens in Regulation, as well as taking just 28 Putts per Round. But most impressive of all was his ranking of 1st for Scrambles, making 14/16 up and downs for Par when missing the greens - leading to the fewest dropped shots out of all the players in the field (just two bogeys over the entire week). At aged 48 years and 318 days, Miguel Angel became the oldest winner in European Tour history.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello has competed in this event twice before (with a best of 15th in 2011) and he arrives with finishes of 8th / 36th / 14th over The Final Series (and then 53rd at the World Cup). Looking at his Genworth Statistics from the three Final Series events, the 29 year old Spanish golfer averaged a very impressive 78.2% for Greens in Regulation (ranking 2nd in China and 4th in Dubai for that category), so he seems to be in control of his game. A good putting week on the Hong Kong GC greens and Rafa could well contend for his third European Tour title.

Wen-Chong Liang has competed in this event 11 times before (with a best of 11th in 2009) and he arrives with finishes of 53rd / 15th / 44th over The Final Series, plus a recent win in the Philippines on the Asian Tour. Looking at his Genworth Statistics from the three Final Series events, the 35 year old golfer from China averaged a healthy 68.3% for overall Driving Accuracy and enjoyed a good short game and putting week at the second Chinese event. If he can continue the form that led to the recent Asian Tour win, we may well see Wen-Chong Liang up there contending come Sunday afternoon.

Thorbjørn Olesen arrives to compete in the Hong Kong Open for the first time this week, having finished 31st / 29th / 17th over The Final Series (and then 25th at the World Cup). Looking at his Genworth Statistics from the three Final Series events, the 23 year old Danish golfer performed consistently in most departments of the game, which enabled him to record a brilliant 4.83 Birdies per Round and an incredible 2.85 for Par 3 Scoring over the twelve rounds. Even without any previous course experience, Thorbjørn will start as one of the tournament favourites.

Marcus Fraser has competed in this event 5 times before (with a best of 3rd last year) and he arrives with finishes of 12th / 29th / 21st over The Final Series (and then a missed cut in Australia). Looking at his Genworth Statistics from the three Final Series events, the 35 year old Australian golfer recorded numerous positives, including 4th for Greens in Regulation in China, 3rd for Putts per Round in Turkey and 1st for Par 3 Scoring plus 2nd for Putts per Round in Dubai. Hong Kong GC presents an ideal course layout for the 2 time European Tour winner.

Robert-Jan Derksen has competed in this event 6 times before (with a best of 3rd in 2009) and he arrives with a superb Stroke Average of 69.13 and finishes of 8th / CUT / 8th / 18th from his last four European Tour events (and then 38th at the World Cup). Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 39 year old golfer from the Netherlands averaged 74.1% for Greens in Regulation at those four events, plus 70% for Scrambles and 28.5 Putts per Round - all leading to under Par scoring across the different hole types (being the Par 3’s / Par 4’s / Par 5’s). Robert could be the dark horse this week, on a course which again suits his game.