Steve Palmer's free predictions and golf betting tips for the Genesis Championship

Genesis Championship date, start time & TV info 

Date Thursday, October 23 to Sunday, October 26
Course Woo Jeong Hills CC, Cheonan, South Korea
Start time 11pm Wednesday night
TV Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 4am on Thursday

PGA Tour regulars Hideki Matsuyama, Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im are being shown great respect by bookmakers for the Genesis Championship, but none of that unreliable trio appeal as a betting proposition at short odds.

Byeong Hun An is more difficult to resist as he bids to successfully defend the title he won at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club 12 months ago. Back-to-back weekend rounds of 66 meant fourth place for An in the Baycurrent Classic last time out, so he has found form at a useful juncture.

Steve Palmer's Genesis Championship predictions

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
3.5pts each-way 16-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Angel Ayora
3pts each-way 22-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Thomas Detry
1.5pts each-way 33-1 bet365, Betfair, BoyleSports, Paddy Power

MK Kim
1pt each-way 100-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Bernd Wiesberger
1pt each-way 75-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Steve Palmer's Genesis Championship preview

Top tip

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 16-1

Precise Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen has been a winner waiting to happen on the DP World Tour all season and his moment may have come in the Genesis Championship.

Neergaard-Petersen has been so consistent this term that he may earn a PGA Tour card through the Race to Dubai Rankings without actually winning a title. He qualified for the US Open this year and finished 12th at Oakmont, underlining his liking for tough venues like the one he will face this week.

Rock-solid Rasmus has twice finished runner-up this year – once on the DPWT and once on the PGA Tour – and his form figures from his last three trips to Asia are 2-10-4.

Fifth place in the Spanish Open last time out, where he closed with weekend rounds of 67 and 68, provided further encouragement for Neergaard-Petersen. He skipped India to freshen up for Korea, where he finished 14th in last year's Genesis Championship.

Two of his three Challenge Tour victories last season came in Asia. He turned pro in 2023, topped the Challenge Tour Rankings last season, and can end this year with a DPWT breakthrough. 

Next best bet

Angel Ayora 22-1

One of Neergaard-Petersen's biggest rivals on the Challenge Tour last season was Angel Ayora, who finished fourth in the standings. Ayora is five years younger and turned 21 at the start of this month. He won on the Challenge Tour last term and has become a leaderboard regular in the higher grade lately.

With a swing to die for and effortless power, Ayora boasts enormous potential. He was seventh in the Italian Open in June, then eighth at Crans-sur-Sierre, fifth in the Irish Open, fifth in the Dunhill Links and ninth in the Spanish Open.

A debut at an unsuitable course in India last week was never going to be easy – and Ayora struggled in round one – but a Friday 69 meant he missed the cut by a single shot. He made ten birdies in his 36 holes, suffering a few cardbusters. Ayora is much better suited to this week's layout and he has got a decent record in Asia, including a runner-up effort in China on the Challenge Tour.

Other selections

Thomas Detry 33-1
MK Kim 100-1
Bernd Wiesberger 75-1

Belgian bomber Thomas Detry has switched his focus to the DP World Tour since the end of the FedEx Cup playoffs. He won the Phoenix Open by seven shots in February for a spectacular PGA Tour breakthrough, before competing in elite fields thereafter.

The downgrade to the DPWT brought 12th spot in the Irish Open, followed by more humdrum efforts with 46th at Wentworth, 42nd in France and 35th in Spain, but Detry may step up a gear with strong motivation to excel this week. From 129th in the Race to Dubai Rankings, he needs a top-two finish in Korea to qualify for the DPWT playoffs.

The course suits Detry, he is loaded with Asian experience from his DPWT days, and the Dubai-based 32-year-old can retain hopes of making the DPWT Championship there by dazzling in Korea.

Complete the staking plan with two lively outsiders. MK Kim has form figures of 1-4-1 from the last three Korean Opens at Woo Jeong Hills CC. Prior to those successes, he was amazing on the EuroPro Tour as a prodigy, winning twice in 2017, then he was victorious on the Challenge Tour in 2018 at the age of 17.

Kim finished second in a Korean Tour event on Sunday, losing by a shot, so may be playing well enough to threaten a maiden DPWT success at a track he adores.

Bernd Wiesberger, who turned 40 the week before last, is an eight-time DPWT winner and former Ryder Cup star. The first of his victories came in South Korea with a five-shot romp in the 2012 Ballantine's Championship. Two of his DPWT wins came in Asia and he also triumphed on the Asian Tour in the 2013 Indonesian Masters, fending off Ernie Els.

Wiesberger has an excellent record in Asia generally and is hitting his ball well enough to contend in Korea, highlighted by 16th place in the Spanish Open and 17th in India last week. The Austrian may be past his best, but remains an exceptional iron-player, which is a key asset this week.

Read more top golf tips from Steve Palmer:

Genesis Championship: Woo Jeong Hills Country Club course guide, start time, odds and how to watch 

Bank of Utah Championship: Black Desert Resort course guide, start time, odds and how to watch 

Steve Palmer's free predictions and golf betting tips for the Bank of Utah Championship 

For those looking for even more extensive golf coverage don't miss Palmer's extra pointers every Wednesday in the Racing Post newspaper.

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