The DP World Tour's regular season reaches its conclusion in South Korea this weekend as Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon plays host to the Genesis Championship.
The final tournament before the two-event play-off series, the Genesis Championship has taken place at this venue on the Korean Tour since 2017 and has now been merged with the DP World Tour's one-off Korea Championship, also staged at JNGC, for the 2024 season.
Pablo Larrazabal won the Korea Championship in 2023, while Sang-hyun Park won the most recent edition of the Genesis, and both men are in this week's field featuring a mix of DPWT and Korean Tour professionals.
The big two at the head of the market, however, are PGA Tour heavyweights Tom Kim and Byeong-Hun An, who are both expected to challenge in their homeland.
- YANNIK PAUL TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
- NICOLAI HOJGAARD TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
- BRANDON STONE TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Paul's Approach Play Makes Him A Contender
The Korean big guns deserve respect, but Tom Kim missed the cut as favourite on the PGA Tour last week and Byeong-Hun An has been unable to cash in on his consistency, so it could pay to look slightly further down the betting.
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon is a typical Nicklaus design in that the fairways are wide and emphasis tends to be on approach play, which plays to the strengths of Yannik Paul.
The German is a greens-in-regulation machine who was in excellent form prior to last week's missed cut, finishing runner-up at the Open de France a fortnight ago.
Paul was sixth in the ISPS Handa Championship in Korea last year, then 38th at this venue where he demonstrated his suitability for the course, opening with rounds of 68-68 before falling away over the weekend.
YANNIK PAUL TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
High-Class Hojgaard Steadily Finding Form
Nicolai Hojgaard has had a poor season by his lofty standards and the Dane, who sits 78th on the DP World Tour season-long rankings, needs a big week if he's to force his way into the top 70 and the play-offs.
However, there have been positive signs for the Ryder Cup star in recent weeks, as he finished 18th at the Open de France and 20th at the Andalucia Masters.
Hojgaard will need to find more in Korea, but this is not a deep field and added improvement should see him get into contention. He is an elite iron-player who can tame this layout.
NICOLAI HOJGAARD TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Stone Looks Ready To Win Again
It's been more than six years since Brandon Stone won a DP World Tour title, but the South African has been finding his feet again in recent months and he looks ready to claim a fourth victory on Sunday.
Stone has been putting brilliantly in recent outings, finishing tenth in France a fortnight ago and 17th in Spain last week, and he's another who is on the cusp of the play-off places at 73rd in the rankings.
A strong iron-player at his best, this could be the week when he kicks into gear.
BRANDON STONE TO WIN AND EACH-WAY