After a one-year hiatus, the European Tour returns to the renovated Leopard Creek Country Club for the Alfred Dunhill Championship, in what will be the final event of 2018. With the Tour staying in South Africa for a second straight week, the host country will again be well represented, so don’t be surprised if a native claims the top prize, much like Louis Oosthuizen did last week with a six-shot victory at the South African Open. Oosthuizen ( +460 ), along with fellow countrymen Charl Schwartzel ( +735 ) and Branden Grace ( +810 ) are the top three betting favorites at BookMaker.eu. Here are some matchup odds for the final Tour event of the year.
Golf Betting at BookMaker.eu
Alfred Dunhill Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Louis Oosthuizen -150 vs. Charl Schwartzel +120
Louis Oosthuizen -175 vs. Branden Grace +139
Charl Schwartzel -135 vs. Branden Grace +105
Matt Wallace -135 vs. Dylan Frittelli +105
Matt Wallace -195 vs. Thomas Aiken +154
Dylan Frittelli -190 vs. Thomas Aiken +150
Brandon Stone -123 vs. Dean Burmester -107
Brandon Stone -120 vs. Romain Langasque -110
Dean Burmester -110 vs. Romain Langasque -120
Erik Van Rooyen +102 vs. Victor Perez -132
Kurt Kitayama -135 vs. Chris Paisley +105
Haydn Porteous -105 vs. George Coetzee -125
Shaun Norris -132 vs. Ernie Els +102
Richard Sterne -145 vs. Matthieu Pavon +115
Jaco Van Zyl -115 vs. Tapio Pulkkanen -115
Darren Fichardt -130 vs. Sean Crocker +100
Pablo Larrazabal -115 vs. Jeff Winther -115
Bernd Wiesberger -130 vs. Masahiro Kawamura +100
Scott Jamieson -165 vs. Alex Haindl +131
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +100 vs. Marc Warren -130
Scott Vincent -115 vs. Zander Lombard -115
Oliver Wilson +110 vs. Mikko Ilonen -140
Oliver Bekker -125 vs. Gregory Bourdy -105
Keith Horne +131 vs. David Drysdale -165
Adilson da Silva -132 vs. Alejandro Canizares +102
Need to Know
The 7,287-yard, par-72 layout is set on the edge of Kruger National Park and offers some astonishing views. The players will also have to contend with the wildlife that roam freely and call the area home, creating more of a distraction than the water hazards and bunkers that line the course. Three of the past five winners here scored -20 or higher and the course underwent a massive renovation, so it will be interesting to see how it plays this week. Course form may not be a true indicator given the changes, but it can’t be dismissed. The length of the layout hasn’t changed and it still works for big hitters. There is plenty of sand and water, which also puts a premium on accuracy. There isn’t much in terms of weather in the forecast, but it will be warm with temps hovering around triple digits. And that’s something that needs to be considered.
Alfred Dunhill Championship Matchup Picks
Charl Schwartzel +120 vs. Louis Oosthuizen
Schwartzel owns the course so it’s hard to go against him in this matchup. The veteran has won here four times, including three victories in the last five playings, and he’s finished as runner-up four times. Recent renovations to the layout may render course form irrelevant, but it’s hard to ignore what Schwartzel has done at Leopard Creek. Oosthuizen is brimming with confidence after his 6-shot win at last week’s SA Open and there’s always the fear of a letdown. And his play at Leopard Creek in the past has been inconsistent. These two are the favorites to win it all and it could come down to the final pairing on Sunday, but I like Schwartzel’s record here and I’ll take him for the upset win.
Ernie Els +102 vs. Shaun Norris
Els has played a lot of golf lately as he prepares for the Senior Tour next year when he hits the big 5-Oh. And the four-time Major winner had his best showing recently with a T15 at Randpark last week. He’s finished among the top six in GIR in his last two starts and that should serve him well around the hazards. Els hasn’t played Leopard Creek in nine years, but he had the layout mastered with a win and four other top-10s in six starts back in the day. Norris’ game has cooled after some success earlier this year on the Japan Tour. He’ll be competing for the seventh consecutive week and the anticipated heat should add to his mental and physical fatigue.
Romain Langasque -120 vs. Dean Burmester
Making a seamless transition from amateur to pro, Langasque’s talent was on full display last week with a runner-up finish to Oosthuizen at the SA Open. He was the only golfer to score below 70 in all four rounds at Randpark and was one-shot better than the champ over the final 54 holes. That showing came after a T23 at the Mauritius Open. He’s making his tournament debut, but he’s had plenty of success in eight starts in South Africa. Burmester struggled with his driver at the SA Open and exited early after a second round 75. I’m not sure he can rebound in time to cover this matchup.
Golf Betting Odds
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