Genesis Championship betting tips: Who is our expert backing in Korea?
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It’s the end of the DP World Tour regular season, and Tom Jacobs has picked out four Genesis Championship betting tips…
The DP World Tour heads to South Korea for the final event of the main season before the Playoffs begin in November.
The Genesis Championship joined the DP World Tour schedule last season and now marks the end of both the ‘Back 9 Swing’ and the regular season. It’s the last chance for players to earn enough points to keep their cards for 2026 or to secure a spot in the Playoffs.
Last year, home favorites Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An tied at -17 after four rounds, with An ultimately triumphing in a playoff.
This year, the tournament moves to Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, setting up a fresh challenge for the field.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2025 Genesis Championship…
2025 Genesis Championship key details
Dates: October 23-26, 2025
Venue: Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Cheonan, South Korea
Course: Par 71; 7,367 yards
Format: 72 hole stroke play with 36-hole cut
Purse: $4,000,000
Race2Dubai Ranking points: 5,000
Defending champion: Byeong Hun An (-17, playoff)
How to watch the 2025 Genesis Championship
US viewers can catch all the action on the Golf Channel.
All times ET
Thursday, October 23: Golf Channel and NBC Sports app from 7.30am
Friday, October 24: Golf Channel and NBC Sports app from 6am
Saturday, October 25: Golf Channel and NBC Sports app from 5am
Sunday, October 26: Golf Channel and NBC Sports app from 6am
UK viewers can catch all the action on Sky Sports Golf.
All times BST
Thursday, October 23: Sky Sports Golf from 4am
Friday, October 24: Sky Sports Golf from 4am
Saturday, October 25: Sky Sports Golf from 4.30am
Sunday, October 26: Sky Sports Golf from 3.30pm
2025 Genesis Championship tee times
Full field details and tee times for the Bank of Utah Championship can be found on the DP World Tour’s official championship page.
2025 Genesis Championship betting tips
Right, here are my three tips (and a bonus) in Korea, starting with the outsiders…
The Long Shot: Minkyu Kim
100/1 e/w (BetMGM 6 Places 1/5)
I have been reluctant to put forward Japan Tour regulars for the Baycurrent Classic and PGA Tour of India players for the India Championship last week, because when the chips are down they tend to be outclassed by the PGA Tour/DP World Tour regulars. I am going to go against that theory and take a local in this week’s Genesis Championship.
Minkyu Kim that has generally been outclassed when it has come to playing on the DP World Tour this season, but I cannot ignore the fact that his record at this course reads 1-4-1 in his last three visits, and he’s coming in off the back of a 2nd place finish last week.
Winning the Korea Open two of the last three times it’s been at this course and contending in the other is different to winning a DP World Tour event, and finishing 2nd on the Korean Tour last week is not like contending at the India Championship, so context is important, but they are all extremely relevant results to this week, and when we dive deeper into Kim’s play this year there is reason for optimism.
He’s missed the cut in his five of his last six DP World Tour starts, but they have come in France, Switzerland, England, Scotland and Germany. Cast your eye back to the early part of the season, and you will see that when the DP World Tour was in Asia, Kim finished 15th in China, and made the cut in the Hainan Classic and Singapore Open. He also finished 55th in Bahrain and 8th in Qatar to kick off the year. Simply put, if he’s closer to home he tends to be more comfortable and looks capable of competing. That’s certainly going to be the case, when he’s playing at a course he’s won at twice in 2022 and 2024 and when he’s coming in off the back of a 2nd at home last week.
He’s priced this way because limited data suggests playing on the DP World Tour is too much of a step up, or at least too unfamiliar for him, but there’s also a win on the Challenge Tour, a 31st place finish in the Open Championship and two more DP World Tour top 10s to consider.
At 100/1 I will take a shot he likes this course enough to overcome the handicaps in front of him.
The Outsider: Joakim Lagergren
66/1 e/w (BetMGM 6 Places 1/5)
In what is a new course to most of the field, and all of the DP World Tour regulars, let’s not overcomplicate things. Joakim Lagergren is one of the form players on the Tour right now, with three top 10s and four top 11 finishes overall in his past six starts, with no missed cuts in that span.
During this run, Lagergren has lost out in a playoff to Rory McIlroy at the Irish Open, finished 8th the week before that at Crans, put in a respectable showing at Wentworth, having been 4th after round 1 and 11th after round 2, and then added back-to-back top 11s. 5th last time out in Spain, a week after finishing 11th at the Alfred Dunhill Links, Lagergren is clearly at the top of his game, and it would seem silly to overlook that at odds of 66/1. Anything 40/1 and bigger I still think he’s a bet this week.
Sure, Hideki Matsuyama and Si Woo Kim are the class of the field, as are the likes of defending champion, Byeong Hun An, major winner, Adam Scott, and last week’s runner-up, Keita Nakajima, but they are all priced accordingly. The form player on Tour is priced like he doesn’t belong and I can’t for the life of me figure out why.
Ranking 3rd and 8th in his last two starts in terms of SG Tee to Green there is some real substance to Lagergren’s game as well, it’s not like he’s just riding a hot putter or somehow putting scores together, he’s hitting the ball well and finishing well as a result. If he brings that same level of play to Korea this week, he’s going to be in the hunt again.
He’s played well in Asia in the past, losing in a playoff in Qatar and finishing 3rd in India, and if you look further you will find top 20 finishes in both Hong Kong (T19) and Thailand (T14) which only add to the idea that he’s capable of contending this week.
The Banker: Keita Nakajima
22/1 e/w (General 6 Places 1/5)
Keita Nakajima played brilliantly in India last week, but was pipped by arguably the in-form golfer in the world right now. A bogey-free 69 on Sunday wasn’t good enough to hold off the charging Tommy Fleetwood, otherwise we would be talking about a two-time DP World Tour winner who’s on his way to the PGA Tour.
Instead, we are talking about a 25-year old, who has already won in India last year, has finished runner-up in the same part of the world twice now in 2025, and seems to play his best golf every time he returns to Asia. So while he is on track to get a PGA Tour card (currently 12th among the 13 players who are set to gain a card) he would certainly like a big week here to solidify his position.
It feels like he’s had a slightly underwhelming year, but Nakajima has finished runner-up three times now in 2025, twice in India and once in Singapore, while also adding an 11th at the Hainan Classic. Get him in and around Asia and Nakajima is clearly more comfortable and ready to let his talent shine. The fact we see this as a bit of a down year just goes to the upside the golfing world believes he offers, and we should very soon be looking at a talent who is living up to expectations. A win this week while in form would go a long way to doing that.
Nakajima hit his irons brilliantly again last week in India, ranking 9th in SG Approach and gaining a stroker per round with his irons and wedges. If he can keep that up, I have no doubts he can double his win tally, especially in Asia. He also has experience contending in Korea, having finished 3rd in the Shinan Donghae Open in 2023, before he even made his way onto the DP World Tour.
The Bonus Pick: Todd Clements
40/1 e/w (BetMGM 6 Places 1/5)
Todd Clements is in 49th place on the DP World Tour rankings which means he’s set to make the playoffs, which is the final two events of the year. What he will want to do is give himself the chance to keep pushing on and give himself an outside chance of getting a PGA Tour card. At this point it’s very unlikely but get a win this week, and perform well over the next two events and it’s not impossible.
He’s in the sort of form where a miraculous run like that is possible as well, as he’s finished 10th, 15th and 16th in his last three events, adding to 3rd and 7th place finishes at the tail-end of July and start of August.
When 7th at the NEXO Championship he really did have a chance to win and that could have changed the trajectory of his season and frankly his career massively, and that might have been what held him back. Now, he’s added three more top finishes and has all the tools to go and compete here in Korea, in an event he placed inside the top 10 in 12 months ago.
I really like what Clements has been doing, with another top 10 SG Approach performance at Spain keeping him in contention there. He’s not yet putting it all together for four rounds, but he’s close and I certainly believe he can contend again this week, despite some strong names at the top of the odds board.
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Who will win the 2025 Genesis Championship in South Korea?
