The SDC Championship is making its debut on the DP World Tour this week as the circuit starts its short but sweet visit to South Africa in March. Take a look at my three betting selections for the action at St. Francis Links, but first…
2023 SDC Championship preview
Venue: St. Francis Links, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Date: March 16-19, 2023
Course stats: Par 72; 7,192 yards
Course summary: The Jack Nicklaus Signature Course is ready to host its most global tournament yet, having already hosted a number of Sunshine Tour events and the prestigious South African PGA Championship. Situated on a hill overlooking St Francis Bay, St. Francis Links should be a challenging but fair test.
Purse: $1.5 million
2023 SDC Championship betting tips
The Banker: Jayden Trey Schaper @ 20/1 with Bet365
You are being asked to take a short price about this highly talented, but still unproven winner, but I think it is worth chancing Jayden Trey Schaper, even at 20-1.
The South African has now finished 17th, 13th, and 7th in his last three starts, with the 7th last week in Kenya potentially the worst he could have finished, having been right there with Jorge Campillo going into the final round.
He couldn’t find his putting stroke on Sunday, and it was a familiar feeling for Schaper who has found himself in the mix on multiple occasions at various different levels, but is still yet to win, whether it be on the Sunshine Tour or DP World Tour.
Why will it be different this week? Well, as a 21-year-old, there are few courses Schaper goes to where he’s got a wealth of experience, but this week’s venue, St. Francis Links is a little different. He has played here three times already, finishing 5th, 6th, and 10th in three starts, and that coupled with his current form makes him a contender here.
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Schaper was 6th in Ball Striking last week, and if he keeps that up, he should be involved over the weekend, as he returns home.
The Each-Way Play: Casey Jarvis @ 50/1 with Bet365
Casey Jarvis, much like Schaper, is a highly talented youngster who is very likely to break through onto the big stage at some point, but will it be here this week?
Jarvis has posted five straight top 25 finishes, two of which were a 2nd and a 9th place finish, both coming back home in South Africa. Now, he returns to a golf course where he finished 2nd behind George Coetzee in November, and if he can lean on those recent memories, plus his current form, I see very little reason why he cannot compete.
It may feel like we are being asked to take a price on Jarvis that is too short, but when you consider he is at least double the price of any market leader, he is returning home where his recent starts include two top 10s, and more specifically, he is playing a course he recently finished 2nd on. All signs point to a good week.
Another Each Way: J.J Senekal @ 60/1 with Bet365
J.J. Senekal epitomises the word journeyman and is very much the type who plays steady golf on the Sunshine Tour but has yet to break through at this level. Like we have seen with Ockie Strydom in recent months though, that can change, and now might be the time for Senekal.
Three years Strydom’s junior, Senekal still has some time on his hands to alter his career trajectory, and it may well come at this golf course, which he won on way back in 2013.
Add to his win here in the past, his recent form which has seen him finish 14th, 6th, and 3rd either side of a recent win at the SDC Open, and I see little reason why Senekal cannot impress on the big stage here.
His recent 3rd came on another South African Links course, at the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship, and I trust him to improve on the 30th place finish he recorded on this course back in November, when in weaker form than he is now.
- Visit Bet365 for more prices
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