This week the European Tour resumes with the Volvo China Open, an event co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, taking place at the Beijing CBD International Golf Club. Last year, conditions on the final day were simply awful but Damien McGrane didn’t let this bother him to lift the title. This year, the tournament looks wide open and I admit I have struggled to make my two picks convincingly. Due to the fact that it is such an open tournament, I would advise looking for value as opposed to proposed favourites.

Thongchai Jaidee is favourite at 12/1 and although a fine player and a potential winner, 12/1 doesn’t tempt me. Gonzalo Castano-Fernandez is 14/1 and could very well be the danger this week as he seeks revenge for his latest play-off defeat at the hands of Michael Hoey. Simon Dyson (16/1) and Johan Edfors (16/1) are both capable of challenging also but are streaky players who don’t convince me to part with my money. Defending champion Damien McGrane, the defending champion, is another who could go well and at 20/1 could represent value.

So if the top of the betting looks a little suspect, what of the rest of the field and how do we decide on who to bet? Montgomerie (28/1), Dougherty (40/1), Brier (35/1) all offer hopes but again, are you really convinced?…me neither. Gareth Maybin (25/1) is another who has a chance after he showed some great early form this season. However, none of these make my top 2 this week who are as follows:

Chapchai Nirat (25/1), nick named “King Kong” and sporting a similar swing style to that of John Daly became only the third Thai golfer to win on the European Tour back in 2007, only to follow up with a disappointing 2008 season. However, Nirat recently won the SAIL Open in New Delhi India with a total score of -32, a record total score on the Asian tour, beating Ernie Els previous record of -31. He also created a new 36 hole record after opening with consecutive 62′s. With this confidence on board, Nirat could be a danger man this week and at 25/1 I’m going with him to have another good week this week.

Andrew Coltart is someone who has worked incredibly hard at resurrecting his career and in his past two tournaments has finished T6 and T21. Although not the longest off the tee, in contrast to Nirat, he has an extremely solid overall game. A win might be beyond his grasp but he is 7/1 with Betfair to finish in the top-10 and this appealed to me in what is a difficult tournament to identify stand out candidates.

My Verdict

There are plenty who could go well here but I am going to go with Chapchai Nirat (25/1) and Andrew Coltart (7/1) for a top-10 finish.