Playing with the schedule on the fly, the European Tour tacked on several more events near the close of the year. Three of those tournaments will take place in South Africa starting with this week’s Joburg Open, which actually makes a return to the circuit after being on hiatus for a few years. Many mid-tier players are ecstatic to continue playing and they dot the roster and oddsboard creating an opportunity for a nice payout. Shubhankar Sharma emerged victorious when the tournament was last held, though that came on two different courses. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, the only player in the field to compete in the Masters, opened as the betting favorite. A complete list of betting odds is available at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to place a wager.
Odds to Win Joburg Open at BookMaker.eu
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +1000
Adrian Otaegui +1600
Joost Luiten +1600
Adri Arnaus +1600
Brandon Stone +1800
Daniel Van Tonder +2000
Garrick Higgo +2000
Matthew Jordan +2000
Gavin Green+2200
Marcus Armitage +2200
Dean Burmester +2500
Shaun Norris +2500
Shubhankar Sharma +2500
Johannes Veerman +2800
M.J. Daffue +3000
Wilco Nienaber +3000
Louis De Jager +3300
Antoine Rozner +3300
Fabrizio Zanotti +3300
Richard Sterne +3300
Scott Jamieson +3300
Joachim B. Hansen +4000
Wil Besseling +4000
Masahiro Kawamura +4000
Sean Crocker +4000
Jaco Ahlers +4500
Darren Fichardt +5000
Alexander Lévy +5000
Steven Brown +5000
Adrien Saddier +5500
Bryce Easton +5500
Richard Bland +6000
Matthieu Pavon +6600
Adilson Da Silva+6600
Adrian Meronk +7500
J. C. Ritchie +8000
Jayden Trey Schaper+8000
Keith Horne+8000
Odds Analysis
Dean Burmester +2500
I’ll stick with the theme of leaning toward South Africans since those players likely have a better understanding of the course and elements. That’s not always the case, but since we haven’t had a tournament here in close to a year, hometown players stick out. One is Burmester, who’s had an up and down year, though he was up last time out with a top-5 at the Italian Open ending a string of three straight MCs. And Burmester traditionally does well on home soil. Given the watered down field backing Burmester at this price is worth the risk.
Garrick Higgo +2000
Higgo is another South African who should feel right at home. He is home for one, but he’s also been a terror on both the Euro and Sunshine Tours giving him plenty of value. He’s only been playing professionally for a few years making a splash on the Sunshine Tour winning the Tour Championship. He’s fared well in dual-ranking events winning the Open de Portugal in just his seventh ET start. Coming off a MC at the Cyprus showdown in his last start, Higgo is motivated to make up for that stumble.
Wilco Nienaber +3000
Another local product who caught my eye is Nienaber, who was the country’s top-ranked amateur golfer after winning the 2019 South African Amateur Championship. Known for his bombs off the tee, Nienaber should take advantage of Randpark’s length to set up scoring chances. Cashing those in is another story. He made a splash on the ET a few months ago with a solo fourth and the English Championship and T6 at the Andalucia Masters, but it’s been tough going since. I’m banking on a return to familiar surroundings getting his game back on track.
Shubhankar Sharma +2500
A run of decent form has Sharma set up for bigger things this week. He won this event back in 2017 in his first trip to South Africa by tearing up Firethorn with three rounds of 69 or better finishing three shots clear. He hasn’t finished better than T14 in any of his previous seven starts, but he’s played the weekend in all of them with the exception of a 54-hole cut at the gimmicky Cyprus Showdown. Sharma stands out in a weakened field giving him value at his current price.
Daniel van Tonder +2000
Much like Higgo, van Tonder has been a standout on the Sunshine Tour and looks to insert his name as a Euro Tour champion. The field rivals that of a Sunshine event, so DVT should feel at ease. Having won four titles in the last two and a half months should also make him feel better about his chances.
Course: Randpark Golf Club – 7,506 yards, par 71
The tournament has been around since 2007 co-sanctioned with South Africa’s Sunshine Tour. Previous events were held at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, including the last in December 2017 that Sharma won by three swings. The field takes to the Firethorn Course at Randpark for this year’s edition. It’s a lush, parkland venue that caters to big hitters at a distance of over 7,500 yards and par 71. Natives used to playing the conditions and kikuyu grass fairways would seem to have an advantage on a track that’s unfamiliar to most. Opening things up is the fact that the field is one of the weaker ones we’ve seen on Tour since the start of the UK Swing. There isn’t much in terms of hazards on the layout so keeping the ball straight and dropping putts is the usual route to success.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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