The final World Golf Championship event of the year will take place in Shanghai, China this week with the WGC-HSBC Champions set to begin on Thursday morning. Although the field for this week’s tournament has been limited to 78 entrants, it will be an extremely strong field headlined by four of the top-five golfers in the world rankings right now. We took the time to break down the sports betting odds for this week’s tournament in order to identify the best possible betting options on the board including the top favorites and sleeper picks. Keep in mind that when you factor in the time change an event that begins on Thursday morning in China will actually begin on Wednesday night in North America. Here is a look at the best bets to win the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Event Details
Event: WGC-HSBC Champions
Category: PGA
Date: October 24th-28th, 2018
Location: Sheshan Golf Club, Shanghai, China
Past Five Winners
2017: Justin Rose -14
2016: Hideki Matsuyama -23
2015: Russell Knox -20
2014: Bubba Watson -11
2013: Dustin Johnson -24
Brooks Koepka +905
Koepka has been firing on all cylinders in recent months. Until he shows signs of slowing down, it will be hard to bet against him. A co-runner up at this tournament a year ago, Koepka will be trying to make it back-to-back wins overall when he tees off in Shanghai this week. Considering he has won three of his last 12 starts overall – including two majors – it’s easy to see why he’s among the favorites.
Dustin Johnson +805
Dustin Johnson has finished in the top-five at this tournament in three of his last four starts here, so it’s pretty obvious that he feels confident at this course. His scoring average in 16 competitive rounds here is 68.69. D.J. hasn’t won an event outright since he finished atop the leaderboard at the Canadian Open in July so he might be overdue this week. There is no doubt Johnson absolutely deserves to be the betting favorite at the WGC-HSBC Champions this week.
Justin Rose +805
Rose won this tournament a year ago with a 17-under final score. Now he will attempt to successfully defend his title as one of the sports betting favorites to win. Repeating at any course isn’t easy but Rose undoubtedly has the talent to make it happen. With four wins worldwide since he won the WGC-HSBC Champions a year ago, Rose should be a strong betting option to contend with Koepka and D.J. at the top of the leaderboard this week.
Rory McIlroy +1015
McIlroy is another interesting favorite to keep in mind this week as an excellent option that has a scoring average of 68.33 at this course over the last four years. 2017-18 wasn’t an outstanding season by any means for McIlroy, but he has the talent to contend and there is no better time to bet on him than when he is flying under the radar. Consider McIlroy an intriguing value option if you are willing to take a shot on somebody other than the big three this week.
Jason Day +1550
Speaking of value, Day is a very intriguing play as he makes his final start of 2018 before the birth of his third child. Day has everything to play for with one last chance to record a win before heading back home to spend some time with his family. Day is coming off a top-five finish at Nine Bridges in his last start so he should be an interesting value option in Shanghai.
Hideki Matsuyama +1650
Matsuyama won this tournament back in 2016. However, that was his only top-40 finish in five appearances here, which makes it hard to trust him in China this week. There is no doubt that Matsuyama has the talent to contend at the WGC-HSBC Champions. However, there is some significant risk based on the fact that he hasn’t shown his top form here since he won the tournament a couple of years ago.
Francesco Molinari +1850
When it comes to identifying the top sleeper picks on the board, Molinari stands out as an intriguing option as a golfer that has thrived this season despite a poor finish in his last start. Molinari is coming off a T-56th at the British Masters. However, it’s a lot easier to overlook that poor result as a blip on the radar when you consider the fact that he recorded three wins and two more runner-up finishes this past summer. At +1850 odds, Molinari is definitely worth taking a chance on to contend for the outright win this week.
Rafael Cabrera Bello +3550
Cabrera Bello is another decent sleeper option based on his upside and excellent value at +3550 odds. Cabrera Bello is coming off a career-best third-place finish at Nine Bridges in his last start and he did finish T-5th at this event a year ago. If you are willing to take a chance on a deep sleeper pick this week, consider Cabrera Bello an outstanding sleeper option to win the WGC-HSBC Champions at long odds.
Odds To Win WGC-HSBC Champions
Dustin Johnson 805
Justin Rose 805
Brooks Koepka 905
Rory McIlroy 1015
Jason Day 1550
Tony Finau 1650
Tommy Fleetewood 1650
Hideki Matsuyama 1650
Jon Rahm 1850
Francesco Molinari 1850
Paul Casey 2250
Tyrrell Hatton 2550
Patrick Cantlay 3050
Alex Noren 3050
Patrick Reed 3550
Rafa Cabrera Bello 3550
Cameron Smith 4050
Adam Scott 4550
Matthew Fitzpatrick 4550
Ian Poulter 5050
Xander Schauffele 5500
Billy Horschel 6550
Thorbjorn Olesen 6550
Byeong Hun An 6550
Kyle Stanley 6550
Emiliano Grillo 6550
Keegan Bradley 6550
Eddie Pepperell 7050
Haotong Li 7050
Lucas Bjerregaard 7550
