The DP World Tour returns this week for the first tournament of the Asian Swing at the Hainan Classic in China.

Having made its trip bow 12 months ago, a second course has actually been presented, in addition to amateur players, however proficiency off the tee need to still be a huge property for those seeking to construct on strong starts to the year.

Ian Wilkerson's Hainan Classic forecasts

Angel Ayora
3pts each-way 9-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Nathan Kimsey
1pt each-way 22-1 bet365

Grant Forrest
1pt each-way 30-1 bet365, BoyleSports

Ian Wilkerson's Hainan Classic preview

Top tip

Angel Ayora 9-1

Just one gamer on the planet's leading 100, South Africa's Thriston Lawrence, will be at this week's Hainan Classic, however Angel Ayora is hovering just below that mark and he could take his opportunity after a series of strong performances.

The Spaniard looks a class above this sort of business and while he has yet to break his DP World Tour duck, his consistency recommends it is only a matter of time.

He was seventh at the Italian Open in June, and in his next 24 competitions, he has 11 top-ten finishes, which is standout form at this level, and figures of 5-8-9-18 in his last four tournaments recommend he is knocking on the door.

Ayora did not play at Mission Hills in 2015 when Marco Penge triumphed, however the stats suggest he could be a good fit.

Penge was 3rd in stroke-gained off the tee and eighth on approach, so with Ayora ranked fifth and ninth in those metrics this year, the similarities are clear.

He hit a 64 in his opening round last time at the Joburg Open, where his 18th may be considered as a minor dissatisfaction, however he looks well-equipped to recuperate.

With his method abilities possibly being more important on the second course, the Vintage, providing a greater test of precision, do not be shocked if he comes to the fore and lastly gets over the line.

Next best bet

Nathan Kimsey 22-1

Nathan Kimsey is another gamer who heads into battle in great type, although his improvement has actually been more significant since he recuperated from a quite dismal 2025.

However, he got his act together to make it through certifying school and has been making the most of his opportunities.

Since the beginning of February, he has finished ninth in Bahrain, 5th in Kenya, ninth at the South African Open and 12th in Joburg, so confidence needs to not be an issue.

He makes his place debut however the gamer who is ranked 13th in the strokes-gained off-the-tee charts might discover the evaluation to his taste.

Other selection

Grant Forrest 30-1

Grant Forrest is one gamer who has experience of this tournament, albeit when all four rounds were used the Blackstone Course, having finished 23rd last year and he need to be confident that he can construct on that.

The 32-year-old from Livingston won August's Nexo Championship and could go well fairly fresh.

He was 15th in Qatar in early February, having been seventh the week before in Bahrain, so his video game looks to be in a great place.

Key statistics for Hainan Classic

♦ Marco Penge headed the greens-in-regulation data on his method to victory in 2015
♦ Just one Chinese player finished in the leading 30 in 2025
♦ Five of the top eight surfaces last year were likewise in the top 8 for strokes-gained putting, including the winner

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Course guide for the Hainan Classic

Course Blackstone and Vintage Courses, Mission Hills, Hainan, China

Cash prize $2.55 m ($ 433,500 to the winner).

Length Blackstone - 7,637 lawns, Vintage - 7,331 backyards.

Par Both 72 - 4 par-fives, 10 par-fours, 4 par-threes.

Field 120 The cut Top half get approved for last two rounds.

Highest-ranked gamers in field (world ranking in brackets) Thriston Lawrence (89 ), Angel Ayora (101 ), Andy Sullivan (110 ), Nacho Elvira (121 ), Dan Bradbury (125 ).

Course records - 18 holes - Blackstone 65 Marco Penge, Bowen Xiao, Conor Purcell (2025 ).

When to bet By 11.20 pm on Wednesday.

Time distinction Hainan is eight hours ahead of the UK and Ireland.

Course type Both parkland.

Course introduction This is the second time Mission Hills has hosted the Hainan Classic and while all four rounds were played on the Blackstone Course last year, the Vintage Course will be utilized too this time, so each of the 120 gamers will play both courses in the opening two days. This modification has allowed amateur gamers to be included and minimized the professional field to 120. The Blackstone has wide fairways and is the significantly longer of the 2, while the Vintage represents a various obstacle with lots of doglegs and blind shots to be worked out on the tree-lined track that is heavily bunkered.

Story of in 2015 Marco Penge kept his cool with a closing 67 to claim his first DP World Tour success by a three-shot margin.

Weather forecast All 4 days are anticipated to be dry with temperatures peaking at about 30C.

Kind of gamer matched to the challenge Penge drove and putted well to come out on the top last year and length off the tee is usually an essential ability on Chinese courses. The Vintage is a bit more fiddly, however will just have actually to be browsed once.

Key attribute Power.


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