The Maybank Malaysian Open begins on Thursday, Feb. 5 with defending champion Lee Westwood listed as the favorite. Westwood is 7-1 to win this event with Bernd Wiesberger the second choice at 11-1. Danny Willett and Graeme McDowell are the only other two golfers listed with odds of less than 20-1. Here is a look at the event and golf predictions.
Odds to Win Maybank Malaysian Open
- Lee Westwood 7-1
- Bernd Wiesberger 11-1
- Danny Willett 16-1
- Graeme McDowell 16-1
- Stephen Gallacher 20-1
- Andy Sullivan 25-1
- Nicolas Colsaerts 29-1
- Gregory Bourdy 33-1
- Emiliano Grillo 40-1
- Pablo Larrazabal 40-1
- Marc Warren 40-1
- Gary Stal 41-1
- Peter Uihlein 44-1
- Thongchai Jaidee 48-1
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat 48-1
- Miguel Angel Jimenez 48-1
- Thomas Pieters 50-1
- Rafael Cabrera-Bello 50-1
- Tommy Fleetwood 55-1
- Thomas Aiken 55-1
- Alvaro Quiros 65-1
- Thorbjorn Olesen 70-1
- Eddie Pepperell 70-1
- Morten Orum Madsen 75-1
- Edoardo Molinari 80-1
- Tyrrell Hatton 80-1
- Robert Karlsson 85-1
- Alejandro Canizares 85-1
- Oliver Fisher 110-1
- Field 6-5
Westwood Looking to Repeat
Lee Westwood won this event last year by seven shots as he blitzed the field, leading wire to wire. It was the 41st career title for Westwood.
“You have to play really well to win any tournament by seven shots,” Westwood said. “I played really nicely that week and didn’t make many mistakes, which was key to my victory. If I can stay solid from tee to green, I don’t see why I can’t be in contention again.”
Other Contenders
Unlike last week when Rory McIlroy was the clear choice and a deserving favorite, the field this week is wide open as Westwood is a weak favorite. Wiesberger is the second choice in the betting and it is hard to get too excited about him at odds of 11-1. Willett and McDowell are listed with golf betting odds of 16-1. This could be a good week to take a shot with a big underdog hitting at a nice price.
Golf Predictions
I got a nice win with Rory McIlroy in Dubai so I will try and make it two straight on the European Tour this week in the Maybank Malaysian Open. I don’t like any of the top contenders this week so I will go with a few longshots.
I will go with Stephen Gallacher at 20-1, Thongchai Jaidee at 48-1 and Rafael Cabrera-Bello at golf betting odd of 50-1. Jaidee calls Malaysia his “second home” and he has had a lot of success at Kuala Lumpur with titles in 2004 and 2005. He will be trying to become only the second player to win the Malaysian Open title three times.
