The Final Series has arrived on the European Tour but the top players have not. The Nedbank Golf Challenge was suppose to be like a playoff event with the top 60 players present and jockeying for positions in the season long Race to Dubai, setting up next week’s grand finale in Dubai, but a handful of top players did not make the trip to South Africa, most notably No. 2 ranked Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia. Others skipping the event include Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari, Bernd Wiesberger and Russell Knox. It goes to show you what the players think of this format. They don’t seem to care and the European Tour brass need to do something about it, either change the tournament sites or penalize the players. Something isn’t right!
Henrik Stenson +500 leads the Race to Dubai standings and he is in the field this week. Others include Danny Willett +3500, Alex Noren +1500, Tyrrell Hatton +1850 and Rafa Cabrera-Bello +2100. Those five players have the most realistic chance to win the season long competition. This is the first year the Nedbank Golf Challenge has been apart of the Final series and it will be well represented with home grown players as the trio of Louis Oosthuizen +2350, Branden Grace +2050 and Charl Schwartzel +1900 should provide the home fans with plenty of excitement.
Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa is the host track this week. The course measures over 7,800 yards, making it the third longest course in European Tour history. The layout is always in immaculate shape and has hosted several big time events in the past, but hosts a Final Series tournament for the very first time.
Nedbank Golf Challenge Golf Odds courtesy of BookMaker Sportsbook:
Henrik Stenson +500
Alex Noren +1500
Martin Kaymer +1600
Ross Fisher +1800
Charl Schwartzel +1900
Thomas Pieters +2000
Branden Grace +2050
Rafa Cabrera-Bello +2100
Andy Sullivan +2500
Louis Oosthuizen +2350
Tyrrell Hatton +2550
Chris Wood +3000
Alexander Levy +3250
Danny Willett +3500
Joost Luiten +3550
Tommy Fleetwood +3750
David Horsey +4000
Richard Bland +4200
Matthew Fitzpatrick +4500
Soren Kjeldsen +4600
David Lipsky +4750
George Coetzee +5000
Joakim Lagergren +5500
Thorbjorn Olesen +5800
Andrew Johnston +6000
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +6100
Mikko Ilonen +6500
Richard Sterne +6600
Padraig Harrington +7000
Marc Warren +7350
Scott Hend +7500
Hao Tong Li +7750
Nicolas Colsaerts +8000
Rikard Karlberg +8000
Bradley Dredge +8250
Thomas Aiken +8500
Alejandro Canizares +8750
Nacho Elvira +9000
Robert Rock +9550
Pablo Larrazabal +9999
Lucas Bjerregaard +10000
David Lingmerth +10150
Fabrizio Zanotti +10500
Gregory Bourdy +11000
Jaco Van Zyl +11050
FIELD - Any other player +775
ODDS ANALYSIS
HORSE for COURSE: Charl Schwartzel +1900
The former Masters champ loves playing on home soil with two wins in his last two starts in South Africa. He knows the course well and with a strong finish, he can make a move in the race to Dubai standings. He finished his year on the PGA Tour with two top 10’s and will finish his year on the European Tour the same way - strong!
FADE: Danny Willett +3500
For weeks and months I have been telling you to FADE Willett. His game is awful, his confidence is low and he hasn’t played well since his epic win in April at The Masters. He played poorly at the Ryder Cup and his horrendous play continues on a weekly basis. His last two starts are a T75 and T68. Fade Willett, it’s easy money!
LONGSHOT: Thomas Aiken +8500
He grew up playing the course and hits the ball straight and hits a lot of greens which will bode well for him this week. He is worth a play at +8500.
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