The ISPS Handa World Invitational returns this week, in what will be the fourth renewal of this event.
The ISPS Handa World Invitational is a unique event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the LET & LPGA, where two separate fields of Men and Women will compete for the same prize money, on the same course(s).
Ewen Ferguson returns as the defending champion in the DP World Tour field, however, Linn Grant will not be defending her title in the women's event, with Ireland's, Leona Maguire the favorite to win this week.
Galgorm Castle has been used as the main course at this event since its inception, hosting one of the first two rounds, and both weekend rounds, but this year Castlerock Golf Club will replace Massereene as the secondary venue.
Let's look into the Men's field and the two course(s), to see what it takes to win here, and whether the winner might come from for this week's DP World Tour event.
For the latest ISPS Handa World Invitational odds, check out OddsChecker now.
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2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational: Course Preview
- Galgorm Castle
- Par 70
- 7,151 Yards
- Castlerock Golf Club
- Par 71
- 6,859 Yards
Galgorm Castle has been used in every iteration of the ISPS Handa World Invitational, but this week we will see Castlerock Golf Club for the first time, across Thursday and Friday.
Castelrock is a classic links test, so look for those that are comfortable playing in Scottish Open, the Open Championship, and in previous Irish Opens.
Galgorm Castle features only two par 5s and both of them come on the back nine, meaning there is a chance to score down the stretch. Unlike Castlerock, this is a parkland course, not exposed to the elements.
The first three winners of this event on the Men's side, have ranked 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in Scrambling, which suggests a good short game is key to winning at Galgorm.
John Catlin ranked 6th for Greens in Regulation in 2020, and Ewen Ferguson 8th, whilst Daniel Gavins still ranked highly enough in that category at 18th.
Catlin and Gavins both ranked inside the top 8 for Driving Accuracy the week they won, but Ferguson only hit 33.3% of the fairways the week he won, instead hitting it a bit further than the previous two winners. Still, it wasn't as if he dominated in terms of distance, as Ferguson still only ranked 54th on the week in Driving Distance, just one better than Catlin in 2020.
ISPS Handa World Invtiational: Key Stats
- Scrambling - This traditional metric is the only one stat all three winners have in common here. No winner has ranked worse than 3rd in Scrambling the week they won the ISPS Handa Invitational
- SG Approach - The idea is to avoid putting yourself in bad positions around the greens, so you can keep those Scrambling stats positive, and to do that, those that hit it closest to the hole most often, should come to the fore here.
ISPS Handa World Invitational Picks and Predictions: Outright Winner
Ewen Ferguson +1800 (Bet $100, to collect $1900) The best odds for this Ewen Ferguson pick are at Bet365 Sportsbook
Ewen Ferguson is the defending champion, and these things don't always go to plan, but the Scotsman is in good form, and he can return to Galgorm Castle, and adapt to the new links course at Castlerock, to win again this week.
Ferguson is one of the better players in this field, having won twice already on the DP World Tour, and he arguably should have three or four wins to his name at this point, but for some bad luck, especially in Himmerland last year.
This is a Challenge Tour-level field for the most part, so whilst he might have to beat compatriot, Robert MacIntyre on Sunday, this looks a great opportunity for Ferguson to defend his title and extend his win total before the year is out.
Ferguson can be quite volatile, having missed 3 of his last 7 cuts, but one of those came at the Open Championship, and when he does make the weekend, he has finished T8, T14, T4, and T12 in that span. His 4th at the British Masters and T12 at the Scottish Open prior to his missed cut at the Open are very encouraging.
I am happy to take a shot on one of the favorites this week.
Casey Jarvis +6600 (Bet $100, to collect $6700) The best odds for this Casey Jarvis pick are at BetMGM Sportsbook
As said previously, this is effectively a Challenge Tour event, so why not take the best player from the Challenge Tour, in 2023?
South Africa's, Casey Jarvis leads the Road to Mallorca standings and will be a DP World Tour player next year.
This year, Jarvis has a win, three 2nd's and one more additional top 10, meaning he has finished 10th or better in 5 of his 17 events this year.
Jarvis also has two 2nd place finishes on the Sunshine Tour this season in back-to-back starts and in one of those he shot a 59!
Clearly a man in form, Jarvis is more than capable of making his mark at this level, and at just 20 years old, he's already way ahead of many players in this field, with his wire-to-wire win at the Euram Bank Open a testament not only to his ability but his mentality as well.
Jarvis has played in three events co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour this year and has top 25s in two of them, so he's clearly comfortable on this stage, even if not yet the finished article.
Like Ferguson, there is some volatility to consider, but he looks good value at 66-1 to counter that worry!
