Less than a week after Jon Rahm’s thrilling victory at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, the European Tour is ready to tee off the start of a new season. That takes place this week at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, contested at the picturesque Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, South Africa. And as the name suggests a hazard on the layout is the wildlife that makes the area home. With a number of high-profile players packing the sticks for the Holidays, the field isn’t as strong, but there are several intriguing tournament matchups to wager on at online sportsbooks. Four-time winner Carl Schwartzel is among the favorites and the field has a large number of South African golfers, and they’ve done well here in the past. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Alfred Dunhill Championship Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
James Morrison -110 vs. Darren Fichardt -120
Christiaan Bezuidenhout -172 vs. Charl Schwartzel +136
David Drysdale +110 vs. Connor Syme -140
Richard Bland -123 vs. Hugo Leon -107
Jack Senior -141 vs. Ricardo Santos +111
Christiaan Bezuidenhout -131 vs. Eddie Pepperell +101
Justin Harding -125 vs. Ross Fisher -105
Edoardo Molinari -134 vs. Thomas Aiken +104
Zander Lombard +104 vs. Ross Fisher -134
Oliver Bekker +116 vs. Cormac Sharvin -147
Justin Harding -131 vs. Zander Lombard +101
Francesco Laporta -109 vs. Matthew Jordan -121
Benjamin Poke +113 vs. Renato Paratore -144
Justin Walters -124 vs. Niklas Lemke -106
Branden Grace -123 vs. George Coetzee -107
Jack Singh Brar -118 vs. Robin Roussel -112
Branden Grace -148 vs. Brandon Stone +118
Eddie Pepperell -161 vs. Charl Schwartzel +128
Oliver Wilson -104 vs. Adrian Meronk -126
Richard Sterne -135 vs. Dean Burmester +105
Jeff Winther -119 vs. Ernie Els -111
Pablo Larrazabal -148 vs. Jaco Ahlers +118
Callum Hill -128 vs. Alexander Bjork -102
George Coetzee -157 vs. Brandon Stone +125
Jaco Van Zyl +101 vs. Oliver Fisher -131
Need to Know
First off let’s don’t get this event confused with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is a more lucrative Euro circuit tournament that takes place in Scotland. Secondly, remember Leopard Creek Country Club was shut down for renovations two years to make it more challenging. The length remains the same at 7,249 yards and par 72 with the biggest difference being grass type. The fairways run faster and firmer which also brings bunkers into play. But it’s still a course that requires top-notch ball striking, and the distance plays well for big hitters. A South African golfer won every playing from 2011 through 2018. American David Lipsky ended that streak last year. The course sits on the edge of Kruger National Park with the Crocodile River winding through several holes. It won’t be surprising to see wildlife that make the surrounding area home make an appearance. Three par 5s on the last six holes are scoreable, giving golfers a chance to make up ground late. I had a good week at the DP ending the season by going 3-2 on my matchup picks. This event will be more difficult to handicap with a tight field, but I have scoured through the material and I’m ready to give it a go.
Alfred Dunhill Championship Matchup Picks
Christiaan Bezuidenhout -172 vs. Charl Schwartzel
A four-time winner being a big underdog, what’s going on here? Well, those wins for Schwartzel came before the renovation and he missed the cut on the new-look course last year. Then a wrist injury sidelined him since April making a sparkling return less likely. Though he’s been swinging a stick for several weeks, Schwartzel admitted he’s not 100 percent, which is why I’m leaning toward Bezuidenhout in this matchup. A T12 in Dubai last week lifted Bezuidenhout into 18th in the Race to Dubai, and he placed in the top-20 here last year.
Brandon Stone +125 vs. George Coetzee
South African golfers have thrived at this event so why not pair a couple of them? Two of Stone’s three Euro Tour victories have come on home soil with a dominant triumph here at the end of 2016. Stone shot 21-under to win by six strokes. He has three top-20s in his three course starts, including a T15 last year on the renovated layout. Last we saw Stone he was grabbing a T2 at the Portugal Masters.
Pablo Larrazabal -148 vs. Jaco Ahlers
Inconsistent play has kept Larrazabal from reaching the upper echelon on the Tour, but he knows how to win and has seemingly figured out Leopard Creek. He was in contention last year until a poor final round dropped him to a share of ninth, giving him two straight top-25s. And he’s always played well in South Africa. A T14 at the Portugal Masters three starts ago shows he still has game.
Dean Burmester +105 vs. Richard Sterne
Burmester enters on his best stretch of golf in over a year. He’s 4 for 4 in his last four Tour starts, the first time he’d done that all season, and had his best finish of the bunch in his last outing with a T14 in Portugal. And he has something to prove at this event. He went T11-T17 in two starts here before throwing up all over himself last year and missing the cut. An unusual result considering he’s had three top-4s and a T11 in his last six starts in SA.
Zander Lombard +104 vs. Ross Fisher
Sticking with the theme of local players, I’m hanging my hat on Lombard in this matchup. He’s picked up his game over the last month starting with a T7 at the Spanish Open. Also included was a T17 at the Turkish Airlines Open and a T8 in his last start at the Nedbank Challenge when he led after 36 holes. Another positive is his T3 finish here last year.
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