South African Open betting tips and preview
The European Tour is back for 2020 and is kicking their year off in South Africa where Louis Oosthuizen is the defending champion.
Our tipster is looking to get the decade off to a good start and has picked out his best three selections from the field.
The details
Venue: Randpark GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
Date: January 9-12, 2020
Course stats: Bushwillow Course – Par-71, 7,114 yards, Firethorn Course – Par-71, 7,500 yards
Defending champion: Louis Oosthuizen (-18)
TV coverage
Thursday: 10am (Sky Sports Golf and Main event)
Friday: 10am (Sky Sports Golf and Main Event)
Saturday: 9am (Sky Sports Golf and Main Event)
Sunday: 9am (Sky Sports Golf and Main Event)
South African Open betting tips: Who will win?
Branden Grace (14/1 with bet365) has been one of the leading South Africans for some time now but in the last couple of years seems to have struggled to really find any consistency.
His last win came in South Africa at the end of 2017 and despite being a top-50 player as recently as May he now finds himself outside the top 100.
He leads the tour in Total Strokes Gained this season and put in his best performance for some time at the Alfred Dunhill Championship before Christmas and finished inside the top three.
This seems like a good place for him to start in 2020 and he’ll be determined to get back inside the top 50 for Augusta.
Brandon Stone (30/1) is another local hope who could be set for a big week in his home country.
He was the pick of many for the Alfred Dunhill but was in truth thoroughly disappointing when finishing 59th. Stone headed to Mauritius to close out his 2019 and put in a much more promising performance to finish tied 13th.
The 26-year-old enjoyed his time here last time securing a T7 finish and as a decent finder of greens I fancy Stone to secure a place for each-way punters.
Wil Besseling (90/1) looks a good each-way bet at a handsome price and his making his first start here.
The 34-year-old Dutchman was one of the strongest players on the Challenge Tour last season and has shown he can compete on the European Tour too.
He secured a top-3 finish at the Alfred Dunhill which was his last start and I’m hoping that he carried that form into the new year.
Both of the courses in use at this week’s venue demand good accuracy into the greens and this should suit Besseling – he currently sits second in the Greens In Regulation statistics.
For the latest prices, visit bet365.
Joe Hughes
Tour editor covering men's golf, women's golf and anything else that involves the word golf, really. The talk is far better than the game, but the work has begun to change that.
