Thailand Classic Preview

Two of the European Tour's veteran diehards, Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jiménez, both relish playing in Asia and would love to add this week's inaugural True Thailand Classic presented by Black Mountain to their impressive list of victories.

Bjørn, now 43, will be keen to enhance his reputation as a worldwide winner when he tees off at the Black Mountain Golf Club near the coastal town of Hua Hin on Thursday.

“Winning around the world is what makes you a truly global player and I would love to add Thailand to the list of countries where I have won," Bjorn, who, among his 15 European Tour victories, has triumphed in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Africa, told europeantour.com this week.

Also wetting his appetite this week, he said, is the venue - the highly acclaimed Black Mountain Golf Club where a good few Scandinavian golfers are doing their winter training.

“There are a lot of European Tour players who have an association with Black Mountain, and the reports I have heard say that it is going to be a very strong venue, so I am looking forward to getting there and, if possible, winning the event.

“Asia is obviously a hugely important territory for The European Tour so it’s great that we are returning to Thailand for the first time since 2007 – it’s an amazing country,” Bjorn concluded.

Jiménez won on his last visit to Thailand, claiming the 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic, and he can't wait to get back there for the first time since then.

“I love playing in Asia,” said the 51-year-old, who recently won on the Champions Tour in the USA. “When I saw that the Thailand Classic had been added to the European Tour schedule I immediately decided it was an event that I really wanted to play in.

“This is a beautiful country and I am very much looking forward to visiting Hua Hin for the first time. Thai people are so incredibly friendly, kind and respectful and are always smiling. The Thai food is unbelievable and I love to try traditional dishes in different local restaurants.”

In the meantime, while the two veteran are not the hot favourites, they are not being written off either.

As against the undisputed favourite, Alex Norén of Sweden who was being quoted at 12/1 on Tuesday morning, England's Marc Warren (14/1), home favourite Thongchai Jaidee (15/1) and last week's Indian first-time Tour winner Anirban Lahiri (20/1), Bjorn was at 28/1 and Jiménez at 20/1.

Lahiri’s stunning come-from-behind victory in the Maybank Malaysian Open last week along with the unusually high number of Asian Golfers on the bookies Top 10 lists of favourites this week is a clear indicator that the golfers from the last continent to embrace the game of golf, are increasingly making an impact on the sport

Apart from Jaidee, who has already shown during his couple of years on the European Tour that he is capable of winning anywhere at any time, and Lahiri, who looked in Malaysia to have the kind of temperament that would be able to craft a second successive victory here on Sunday, the bookies top 10 this week also includes portly Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who on more than one occasion has topped the Asian Tour standings and like Jaidee and Lahiri, has shown that he is not intimidated by Western golfers.

So expect a battle royal this week between Norén and other in-form Westerners like the talented American Peter Uihlein, and possibly Bjorn and Jiménez on the one side, and the up-and-coming Asians on the other side, among them Prom Meesawat, who grew up in Hua Hin and could also be a threat.

The weather? Asian courses can make for hot work, to be sure, but the weather shouldn't be too much of a factor in the eventual outcome at Black Mountain GC this week.

Our golfweather.com boffins have forecast four-star weather on both Saturday and Sunday, no rain on any of the four days of play, light to moderate winds all week, and while the temperature is expected to get up to 34%c on Thursday afternoon, it's not likely to exceed 30%c on any of the other three days.

The Top 15

These were Bet365's top 15 odds on Tuesday morning

Alex Norén 12/1
Marc Warren 14/1
Thongchai Jaidee 16/1 
Anirban Lahiri 20/1
Peter Uihlein 22/1
Emiliano Grillo   22/1
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 28/1
Scott Hend 28/1
Alejandro Cañizares 28/1
Thomas Bjorn 28/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez 30/1
Marcus Fraser 45/1
Prom Meesawat 45/1
Rafael Cabrera Bello 40/1
Anders Hansen 50/1

For any feedback or ideas you are welcome to email: neville@golfweather.com.