Steve Palmer's ISPS Handa Championship predictions & free golf betting tips: Japanese quartet set to thrill the locals in Gotemba

When to bet on the ISPS Handa Championship

By 10.20pm on Wednesday

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Where can I watch the ISPS Handa Championship

Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 4am on Thursday

Steve Palmer's ISPS Handa Championship predictions

Keita Nakajima
4pts each-way 16-1 general

Takumi Kanaya
3pts each-way 20-1 general

Taiga Semikawa
1.5pts each-way 50-1 bet365

Ryo Ishikawa
1pt each-way 70-1 general

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Steve Palmer's ISPS Handa Championship preview

Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Matthieu Pavon head the betting for the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan, but both have trekked from the RBC Heritage in South Carolina, so may be lacking early sparkle in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Bezuidenhout missed the cut in last year's ISPS Handa Championship having made the same journey and does not seem certain to settle on his Taiheiyo Club course debut. Pavon, competing for a third consecutive week after the Masters and the Heritage, is also a Taiheiyo debutant.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Keita Nakajima 16-1

A four-shot romp in the Indian Open meant a maiden DP World Tour title for Keita Nakajima last time out – this gifted youngster opened with a pair of 65s and left the field for dead on a tricky course.

Nakajima dropped a clue by improving his round score on each day of the Singapore Classic, where he finished 29th, having opened his year with fourth place in the Ras al Khaimah Championship. At 23 years of age, the golfing world is his oyster.

Nakajima was world number one amateur for 87 weeks. He won a Japan Tour event when still an amateur – the first of four Japan Tour titles – and he has finished second six times on his home circuit. His record at Taiheiyo Club from four visits is excellent.

On his course debut in 2019, ranked 1,179 in the world, Nakajima finished 18th in the Taiheiyo Masters, then he was third in 2020 despite being ranked 942nd in the world. A share of 35th place in 2022 when still outside the world's top 300 was followed by 20th spot last year.

Unlike this week's European raiders, Nakajima knows the venue like the back of his hand, and this seems a golden opportunity for this rising star to burst into the coveted top ten of the Race to Dubai standings.

Next best bet

Takumi Kanaya 20-1

Another former world number one amateur to follow is Takumi Kanaya, who spent 55 weeks atop the rankings. Kanaya also won a Japan Tour event when he was still an amateur – the 2019 Taiheiyo Masters at this week's venue.

Kanaya followed up with another prestigious title – the 2020 Dunlop Phoenix Open – which is one of the premier events in his homeland. He has won six times on his home circuit, as well as once on the Asian Tour. The 25-year-old is ideally suited to this week's assignment, boasting incredible form figures from his last four visits of 1-5-2-3.

Other selections

Taiga Semikawa 50-1
Ryo Ishikawa 70-1

Four Japanese players have been world number one amateur – Hideki Matsuyama, Kanaya, Nakajima and Taiga Semikawa. The three in this field may be contending for the title on Sunday. Semikawa won two Japan Tour titles when still an amateur and the 23-year-old looks set for a glorious future.

Semikawa, a four-time Japan Tour champion, has been competing mainly on the PGA Tour this year, gaining sponsors invitations, finishing 30th in the Sony Open in January. Back in a much lower grade this week, expect him to thrive at a venue where he finished eighth in the 2022 Taiheiyo Masters.

Complete a four-pronged team of Japanese with Ryo Ishikawa – an 18-time Japan Tour champion at the age of 32. The Bashful Prince, as he is known, was a prodigy who won on the Japan Tour at the age of 15 and became the youngest player to enter the top 50 of the world rankings in 2009.

Some back problems have meant a couple of career lulls for Ishikawa – and he plays a light schedule – but he is worth chancing at a juicy price on a course he loves this week. Ishikawa has won the Taiheiyo Masters three times, most recently in 2022, and he was ninth on his title defence last year.

Course guide for the ISPS Handa Championship

• Course Taiheiyo Club Gotemba, Gotemba, Japan
• Prize money $2.25m ($375,075 to the winner)
• Length 7,262 yards
• Par 70 – two par-fives; 12 par-fours; four par-threes
• Field 156 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Matthieu Pavon (22), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (58), Keita Nakajima (75), Rikuya Hoshino (90), Jordan Smith (94)
• Course records - 72 holes 265 Hideki Matsuyama (2016 Taiheiyo Masters) 18 holes 62 Kiyoshi Murota (2003 Taiheiyo Masters)
• Course winners taking part Hideto Tanihara (twice), Satoshi Kodaira, Takumi Kanaya, Ryo Ishikawa (three times), Shugo Imahira
• When to bet By 10.20pm on Wednesday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 4am on Thursday
• Time difference Japan is eight hours ahead of the UK and Ireland
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview Taiheiyo Club Gotemba takes over for the second edition of the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan. Last year's inaugural edition at PGM Ishioka GC in Omitama was the first DP World Tour event to be staged in Japan. Taiheiyo Club is a well established Japan Tour venue, with the prestigious Taiheiyo Masters staged there from 1977 through 2023, as well as the 2001 World Cup of Golf. The hillside, parkland layout was renovated in 2018 by Rees Jones, with consultation from Hideki Matsuyama, so form from the 2018 Taiheiyo Masters onwards is of more significance than prior
• Story of last year Lucas Herbert beat Aaron Cockerill in a playoff at PGM Ishioka GC
• Weather forecast Generally cloudy and calm, temperatures peaking at 24C when the sun comes out on Sunday afternoon
• Type of player suited to the challenge This tight, tree-lined, parkland layout rewards tee-to-green precision
• Key attribute Accuracy

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