Golf Events / Editor / 07 February 2007 /

Picking a winner in a regular European Tour event can be hard enough but it can become something of a daunting task when the season switches to Asia.

Many of the golfers playing in events co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours will be unfamiliar to backers, especially early in the season.

But the job is not necessarily as tough as it first seems and backers and layers can enjoy success in the Betfair markets if they do their research and pay particular attention to past results.

Just like anywhere else in the world, there are certain players who enjoy the sultry, humid conditions of the East more than others and these are the people that should be considered, along with the top pros on the Asian Tour itself.

Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Paul Casey and veteran Colin Montgomerie all fall into this category and much will be expected of them at events such as the Johnnie Walker Classic and the BMW Asian Open a little later in the year, where they have already confirmed their participation.

Els and Goosen would be many people's selections wherever they are playing but should be names for the shortlist for Asian events with both enjoying outstanding records on the continent.

Els is a previous winner of the BMW Asian Open in 2005, while he has also tasted success in Qatar and is a three-time winner of the Dubai Desert Classic.

The South African will be delighted the Johnnie Walker Classic will be returning to Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, Thailand, at the start of next month after only losing in a
play-off to Tiger Woods when the tournament was last held there in 1998.

And the fact that Els has already confirmed his entry in both tournaments should not be lost as he chases his third European Order of Merit title, for which he is favourite at 4.7
ahead of Goosen (7), Henrik Stenson (7.2) and Casey (8.2).

Goosen has been a regular visitor to the Asian Tour over the last few years and, having enjoyed considerable success, that trend looks set to continue in the future.

The 38-year-old will be seeking a hat-trick of victories at this year's Volvo Masters in
China after winning in 2005 and 2006 and has been a regular challenger on the final day in Asia.

Goosen finished tied for third at the HSBC Champions Tournament last November behind surprise winner YE Yang, while he has already showed he is in good form this season with victory at last month's Qatar Masters.

Working with a coach for the first time in nine years is already paying handsome dividends for 'the Goose' and he will be many people's favourite to win at least once in Asia in 2007.

Montgomerie has been a regular visitor to the Far East during his career and has enjoyed more than his fair share of success on his way to eight Order of Merit titles.

The Scot has twice won in China as well as Singapore and Hong Kong. His last victory came at the 2005 Hong Kong Open and he will be hoping the memory of previous victories in Asia will stir him to further success this year.

But the player who could be the man to follow on the Asian loop of the Tour is European Golfer of the Year Casey.

The Englishman holds a particular affection for this part of the world, as it played a major part in reviving his career two years ago, and invariably performs well when playing in Asia.

In 2005, he won the TCL Classic and Volvo Open in China and followed that last year by finishing joint fifth at the BMW Asian Open, tied for fourth at the Volvo China Open and joint sixth at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.

He has already won this season in Abu Dhabi, his fourth win in 27 events, and the Asian tournaments will be a key part of his schedule as he tries to go one better in 2007 and win the Order of Merit title.

Stenson, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Simon Dyson and John Edfors have also had success in Asia while Lee Westwood made quite a name for himself in this part of the world in the late 90s but has not won there since the 1999 Macau Open.

Gonzalez Fernandez-Castano, the 2005 European Tour Rookie of the Year, will be back to defend his BMW Asian Open title in April but, if a regular on the tour is not going to win, who will be challenging out of the home-based players?

Leading the Asian challenge will be world number 69 Thongchai Jaidee, who won the Asian Order of Merit title in 2001 and 2004.

Jaidee, hugely popular on the continent, successfully defended his title at the 2005 Malaysian Open while he also won the Volvo Masters of Asia last year.

Backers will be aware of Jeev Milkha Singh after the Indian's exploits in 2006 and he again looks set to challenge for top honours in 2007, while 2005 champion Thaworn Wiratchant and emerging star Prom Meesawat are also expected to figure.

The growing Chinese challenge should also not be underestimated. Liang Wen-chong presently heads the 2007 Asian Order of Merit standings, while his compatriot Zhang Lian-wei has also shown himself to be a player of some ability.

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