This is the second time that the Maybank Championship will take place and the event will be held at Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur. This venue has already hosted the Malaysian Open 4 times between 2004-2009, so this gives us some knowledge as to the course and the future tournament. In that period Thongchai Jaidee has become a twice-winner of the event and this proves that the course is a long but fiddly matter. A significant start will be Greens in Regulation with little greens making problems for many who stay with their approaches.
Rafael Cabrera Bello is in the centre of attention this week and he deserves this. He is in an excellent form now. He proves that his play is in such good nick, so nobody will be surprised to see him as the winner of the Maybank Championship. His price of 12/1 seems as a big bet in a weak field. However, we do not expect the event to be weak.
The serious opponents of the Spaniard are Westwood, Schwartzel, Wang, Wiesberger and co.
In general, this championship should be approached carefully, as we do not know much about the course. It is still unknown if Thomas Aiken intends to proceed to battle on the European Tour, but his start this year is rather decent. So he can be the one that is worth our attention this week. He is the winner of the African Open at East London, though the course has numerous undulating fairways and greens. He was also the 4th, 5th, 13th and 14th in some prestigious tournaments of the tour, although last week he took the 42nd place. His return to Europe can have a positive impact on Aiken, as he requires this after his unsuccessful trip to the US last year. As a result, his price of 40/1 is quite understandable.
One more participant that we'd like to attract your attention to is Thongchai Jaidee, who became the winner here in 2004 and 2005. He comes to the Maybank Championship 2017 in a rather excellent form. His start this year was enough dodgy, but he succeeded to get into the top 20 in Dubai last week and this was the thing he required to head to the course that he knows. The heat that is predicted for the whole week can become the benefit for the Thai, as he is accustomed to such conditions all his golfing life. Therefore, in comparison to other players who consider this event a rather difficult to win, Jaidee has a certain experience on this course which is an evident benefit for him too.
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