European Tour: Maybank Championship power rankings

The European Tour moves east to Malaysia for the third edition of the Maybank Championship

After a week in South Africa and two in the United Arab Emirates, the European Tour keeps chugging along with a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Maybank Championship. Kuala Lumpur also hosts the CIMB Classic on the PGA Tour at TPC Kuala Lumpur, but this week we’re headed to Saujana Golf and Country Club.

This marks the second trip to Saujana. The tournament debuted at Royal Selangor in 2016.

Saujana plays to a par 72 and measures at 7,186 yards and is near sea level, so there are no elevation issues to deal with.

Coming down the stretch, the leaders can take somewhat of a sigh of relief if they can get through 14 holes in one piece. The top-five holes on the course will be behind them with the par-4, 498-yard 14th the toughest on the course. No. 17 is a par-4 and 18 a par-5 and play as the fourth- and second-toughest.

Each of the par-5s last year played to a 4.8 scoring average or lower, but eagles will be tough to come by this week. Only five were recorded on the par-5s last year, with none on the par-4s.

Saujana was built in the 1980s but was redesigned in 2015.  Some palm trees line the fairways to provide some cover.

Some rain could hit Kuala Lumpur Thursday and Friday, but the weekend looks benign and temperatures will be warm into the low 90s all week. Scoring conditions should be favorable once again. The top 11 all finished double digits under par in 2017.

Accurate driving, greens in regulation and putting appear to be of value this week, though one specific type of player doesn’t seem to have any huge advantage.

The money’s pretty good this week as the $3 million USD purse compares well to what was on the line in the two events in the UAE.

Let’s take a glimpse at 10 players who could get it done in Malaysia.