Nedbank Golf Challenge betting tips and preview
The details
Venue: Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, South Africa
Date: November 14-17, 2019
Course stats: Par-72, 7,827 yards
Course summary: The fairways aren’t the widest here and with tough rough, accuracy off the tee would be useful. The greens are fairly small and there are plenty of bunkers so this could well be settled by whoever has the sharpest short game.
Purse: €7,500,000
Defending champion: Lee Westwood (-15)
Nedbank Golf Challenge betting tips: Players to follow
Tommy Fleetwood’s (11/1) remarkable cut-making streak continues and he has now not missed a cut in more than 16 months.
The Englishman has a chance to reach 10th in the world rankings and is my pick of the favourites. In 2019 he has had seven top-10s but failed to get over the line, a victory is well overdue.
Fleetwood skipped the Turkish Airlines and is returning to a site where he has had several strong finishes.
He’s played four of the last five Nedbank Golf Challenges with his worst finish a T21 in 2015. His best came in his last outing here when he finished tied for 10th.
Paul Waring (33/1) is playing some of his best golf at present and seems to have really progressed in terms of performance this season.
The Englishman has enjoyed several big finishes recently including a top-10 at his first WGC event in Shanghai.
He comes into the second of three consecutive Rolex Series events having backed up his strong performance in China with a solo 16th in Turkey.
Waring has played the Nedbank in the past two seasons coming away with finishes of tied 35th and tied 19th and with his current good form he could better both of those this week.
It would be hard for me to decide against having at least a small each-way punt on defending champion Lee Westwood (33/1).
The 46-year-old received a warm welcome back into the winners’ circle at this event last year and it was the third time that he had collected the trophy.
He hasn’t been in top form this season but an encouraging tied 10th finish at the Turkish Airlines Open could be a sign that things are once again coming together at the right time.
He enters the week 41st in the Race to Dubai standings so he will be determined to secure a good finish to ensure he qualifies for the season finale.
A home success is not a rarity at this event and Justin Harding (80/1) could be a player to watch this week, particularly for each-way punters.
Harding has had a quiet few months despite his blistering start to the year which saw him win his first European Tour title and finish tied 12th at the Masters.
He recently took a couple of weeks off and returned to action at the WGC-HSBC Champions where he tied for 53rd. He then improved to tie for 23rd at the Turkish Airlines.
The South African has finished inside the top-10 in each of the past two years here so he definitely provides good each-way value.
For those looking for a real each-way outsider, Ernie Els (200/1) has to be worth a shout. These seem to be huge odds for a South African legend who we know is still capable of stringing four good rounds together.
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.
