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Large water hazards and generous fairways
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In-form McKibbin 16/117.00 can secure second Tour title
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Levy 33/134.00 ready to re-join top table after lean spell
Tournament and Course Notes
• This week's venue Hidden Grace Golf Club has previously staged five DP World Tour events, between 2014 and 2019. Two of these tournaments were the China Open (2014 & 2019), while the other three were titled Shenzhen International (2015-17);
• However, the name Hidden Grace won't sound familiar, as the venue was formerly called Genzon Golf Club;
• The course is located in Shenzhen which is China's third biggest city (population 18 million) after Beijing and Shanghai. It is also approximately 25 miles from China's mainland border with Hong Kong;
• Opened 30 years ago, and renovated in 2007, Hidden Grace is undulating and tree-lined, with water on nine holes. Water is particularly in abundance over the closing seven holes, and there are some interesting dog-legs early in the round. However, to counter this, fairways are fairly generous regarding width.
Latest betting for this week's Volvo China Open
Good Current Form
Among the European pros teeing-up this week, Sebastian Soderberg 14/115.00 and Tom McKibbin 16/117.00 will fancy their chances of lifting the title.
Soderberg has posted back-to-back runner-up finishes on the DP World Tour this year, the latest in Japan on Sunday.
McKibbin, meanwhile, has played superbly during the early months of 2024.
Aside from a missed cut in Singapore, the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland has finished inside the top-25 in each of his other seven Tour events.
These include four T12s, the most recent being tied-seventh in Japan over the weekend.
One other name that might be worth considering is Alexander Levy 33/134.00 who was once ranked inside the world's top 50.
The Frenchman is currently plying his trade on the Challenge Tour where his last four starts have all yielded top-10 finishes.
Levy is certainly no stranger to this week's venue having won a European Tour event here 10 years ago.
He's also posted two other top-10s at Hidden Grace and will be seeking his first Tour title in over six years.
Latest betting for May's PGA Championship
Good Course Form
Regarding course form, the much-travelled Jordan Smith 16/117.00 should be one of this week's leading contenders.
Two previous trips to Hidden Grace have yielded finishes of 14-5, added to his satisfactory current form on the DP World Tour.
The Englishman has had a brace of T4s during 2024 and tied-24th in Japan on Sunday.
Unlike in Japan last week, which ended in a victory for Yuto Katsuragawa, it is difficult to see one of the home players emerging as the winner this Sunday.
The one exception would probably be Hao Tong Li 20/121.00 who tied-18th in Gotemba at the weekend.
The once world No 32 knows the course well. He's finished fourth and second here on the DP World Tour, while being runner-up in 2021 when the China Open was part of the home tour only.