Joburg Open preview: TV times and betting tips
The European Tour’s South Africa Swing begins with this week’s Joburg Open. So who do we fancy to come out on top? Read on…
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Joburg Open: The details
Venue: Randpark Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa
Date: November 19-22, 2020
Course stats: Par 71; 7,506 yards
Course summary: The Firethorn course at Randpark is a relatively easy parkland track, set at altitude. This will affect how far the ball will travel, meaning the course will play much shorter than advertised. The main defence offered by the course is water on six holes, along with deep bunkers that protect the greens. Players with experience at altitude will have an advantage here, at an event where birdies should be free-flowing and it could be a race to the finish on Sunday.
Purse: £1 million
Defending champion: Shubhankar Sharma (-23)
Joburg Open: TV coverage
Thursday: Sky Sport Golf and Main Event from 7am and Sky Sports Golf (Red Button) from 1pm
Friday: Sky Sport Golf and Main Event from 10am
Saturday: Sky Sport Golf from 10am
Sunday: Sky Sport Golf from 10am
Joburg Open: Staking plan
Johannes Veerman – 2.5pt e/w @ 35/1 with bet365
After a fantastic couple of weeks in Cyprus, this event should be right up Veerman’s alley. The course yields birdie opportunities aplenty, which should play into the American’s hands as he ranks 8th for Birdie Average this season, and was 1st in this category at last week’s event. Veerman has also been fantastic from the tee recently, ranking 2nd in SG: Off-the-Tee at the Cyprus Open, which further justifies his selection. After a 4th place finish in the Cyprus Showdown I believe we are about to see the best of Veerman and it could be his week in South Africa.
Dean Burmester- 2pt e/w @ 40/1 with bet365
Burmester arrives in his native South Africa off the back of a 5th place finish at the Italian Open. Two weeks off for Burmester has allowed him additional preparation time for a competition he would surely love to win, and based on his social media activity it is clear he is pumped for this one. The South African currently ranks 36th for SG: Off-the-Tee and 22nd for Birdie Average, demonstrating an ability to meet the requirements of the course. A 19th place finish here in 2017 backs up that theory, and despite two missed cuts in 2018 and 2019 he should fancy his chances to put that right and play well here.
Alexander Levy – 1.5pt e/w @ 60/1 with bet365
Levy stormed back onto the scene of the European Tour last time out when finishing 7th in Cyprus, and the five-time European Tour winner is a great price to follow up with a win this week. Levy has had a torrid time over the past two seasons, making just 14 cuts in 38 tournaments and only finishing in the top 10 on three occasions. A recent return to form is welcomed for the popular Frenchman, and despite not having played here before he certainly meets the criteria based on his latest performance. In Cyprus, Levy ranked 12th for Driving Accuracy, 12th for Birdie Average and 2nd for GIR. If he can pick up where he left off, and handle the altitude of the course, I fancy Levy to go close again this week.
For more prices, visit bet365.
