Hainan Classic Tips 2025

Sometimes it’s easy to overthink things when it comes to golf betting, particularly when it comes to finding reasons to oppose those at or near to the top of the betting. I can be (quite rightly) accused of backing Haotong Li far more regularly than perhaps I should, however I can find no logical reason to oppose him here so will happily support him again this week.

Last week’s home Open didn’t quite go to plan for the 29 year-old from the final Sunday group alongside Eugenio Chacarra, with both men struggling to find any rhythm and shooting identical rounds of 72 to ultimately let Ashun Wu through to win. There was some good golf in there still though – punctuated by his approach on 17 when an eagle-eagle finish was required to catch his compatriot – and although he eventually bogeyed 18 there was enough to suggest he’ll be fired up ready for this week.

That win for Wu puts him in front of Li by 5 victories to 4 in terms of the most by a mainland Chinese player on the DP World Tour, and if drawing back level with his friend isn’t enough to motivate him then bolstering his 9^th place position on the Race to Dubai should, with his stated goal of achieving one of the coveted PGA Tour cards very much a possibility.

Stats-wise Haotong is pretty much a full house this week. Averaging 314 yards from off the tee puts him inside the top 20 on Tour for Driving Distance; combine that with 13^th for SG Off the Tee, 6^th for SG Tee to Green and 2^nd for SG Approach and we have a player who’s at the peak of his powers in terms of his long game. The putter has been up and down, but 3^rd for SG Putting last week was a welcome return to form with the flat stick for a player that we know can putt seriously well.

The final piece of the jigsaw comes in the form of his World Celebrity Pro-Am victory here on this course back in 2016. Played as a Stableford format, the then 21 year-old birdied the last to win the title. Yes, it was a celebrity event, however with a $250k first prize it was certainly worth winning, and nearly a decade on I’m sure that he’ll have fond memories of the course upon his return this week.

A new course to the vast majority of the field this week presents opportunities for the less experienced players on the circuit and Sam Bairstow may well enjoy what he sees here on course debut.

The 26 year-old has hinted more than once this year already that he might be ready for a DP World Tour breakthrough having won the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge on the second tier back in 2023, and having made it all the way to the DP World Tour Championship on his rookie season last year he’ll be looking to take the next step and become a DP World Tour winner sooner rather than later.

10^th at the Qatar Masters, 11^th at the South African Open and 9^th at the Joburg Open were useful early-season efforts and he returned to action last week following a 3-week break with a 22^nd place finish in Shanghai. 8^th for SG Approach and 5^th for GIR were the eye-catching stats from his effort last week and at 24^th on Tour for Driving Distance – and just a yard shorter than headline selection Haotong Li – Sam has the power to compete around this lengthy course.

Three straight top-23 finishes from three career starts in China suggests to me that the Sheffield man is comfortable in this part of the world, and 10^th into Sunday last week before a closing 74 was his best chance (before this week) of a seriously contending performance on Chinese soil. With more experience in the bank following last week and another level playing field in terms of the venue, I can see Bairstow featuring here.

Finally, in another tight staking plan I’m going to complete my team with the big-hitting Marco Penge who I still maintain is playing well enough since his return to competitive action to pick up a low-key title such as this.

Having finished 20^th at the Kenya Open following his brief suspension for contravening the DP World Tour’s betting regulations, the Englishman went on to finish 3^rd at the South African Open where he impressed with both his approach game and putting, ranking inside the top 10 from a Strokes Gained perspective on both counts. Finishes of 19^th and 49^th followed in Johannesburg and Singapore respective whilst carrying my money, however I’m ready to take the plunge once again after a promising 26^th place finish last week in Shanghai following a 3-week break.

8^th for SG Off the Tee last week is pretty typical of what we have come to expect of the 26 year-old, however 85% of fairways hit for the player who led the field for Driving Distance was of course a field-leading performance in terms of Total Driving, and 3^rd for GIR was his career-best in-field ranking on that count on the DP World Tour.

With the course measuring over 7,700 yards, at 4^th on Tour for Driving Distance at an average of 327 yards, Marco should enjoy the challenge that his week will present from off the tee. A flat week with the putter was unusual for the 2-time Challenge Tour winner who also ranks 4^th for SG Putting for the season, and with his irons seemingly in great shape last week I can’t resist taking another chance on him here this week.