Golf Betting Tips – BMW SA Open
Paul Atkin signed off 2016 with the 1-2 in the Alfred Dunhill followed by a 50/1 place at the Hong Kong Open and we’ve been eagerly anticipating his next golf betting tips as the 2017 European Tour season gets under way this week.
The action tees off with the 106th edition of the co-sanctioned South African Open, which returns to the Glendower Golf Club in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The 7,594yd Par 72 course hosts this event for the fourth consecutive year but has previously played host to the 54-hole BMG Classic on the Sunshine Tour from 2009-2014.
Glendower is a classic parkland layout with well placed bunkering, gently undulating greens and water coming into play on eleven of the holes. Although the previous three winners did not feature in the top twenty Driving Accuracy stats for the week, the rough is reported to be dense so hitting fairways could be more of an advantage this year. Warm sunshine, with a chance of thundery showers and light breezes are forecast for the tournament.
The golf betting market is headed by Rory Mcillroy who makes a very rare appearance in this event. The world No.2 is obviously a class apart from this quality of field but for anyone fancying taking the best priced 5-2 this week, there are some negatives to factor in.
This is his first start since the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in the middle of November and he has also been suffering from glandular fever over the festive period. Add in the fact that it’s his first competitive outing at this track and he is playing with a new set of clubs made up of Callaway and Titelist equipment after the demise of the Nike golf club range. I just think Rory will be using this week to fine tune his game for next week’s high profile gig in Abu Dhabi, so at the odds I’m happy to look elsewhere for better value.
Our final column of 2016 flagged up the chances of David Lipsky in the Hong Kong Open and each-way backers were duly rewarded at 50/1, so hopefully we can start 2017 in similar style.
South African Open golf tips
SA Open tip – Andy Sullivan 14-1 E/W bet365.
The main golf tip this week is the 2015 winner of this event Andy Sullivan. The chirpy Nuneaton golfer ended last season in strong fashion recovering from a poor spell of form after the Open Championship, which seemed to coincide with some well documented off the course personal issues. He showed these problems were behind him with a strong finish to the season, which included a runner-up finish in the Portugal Masters and a Tied 3rd place in the Nedbank Challenge.
He has been keeping the swing tuned up over the festive period with some social golf at his home course with his dad and members of Sully’s Barmy Army, as well as a visit to the World Darts Championship. Hopefully he’s sobered up by now.
I think the fact Sullivan arrived in Johannesburg a few days earlier than would be normal shows that he means business, so lets hope he can make it win number three in South Africa this week.
SA Open tip – Romain Langasque 66/1 E/W Ladbrokes
The second tip for the SA Open is the hugely promising young Frenchman Romain Langasque who I think will be a player that will feature on plenty of leaderboards in years to come. The 21 year old from the South of France turned pro last year after a successful Amateur career, including a victory in the 2015 Amateur Championship in Carnoustie. The youngster also has the distinction of posting a back nine 31 in the final round at Augusta last year.
He qualified for the European Tour this season through some notable performances on the Challenge Tour last year, with three runner-up finishes and six other top ten finishes. His brief forays on the main Tour have already resulted in a Tied 7th place finish in the 2016 European Masters and a Tied 10th in the Australian PGA Championship at the backend of last year. He also finished Tied 2nd with his great pal Victor Dubuisson in the World Cup of Golf in Australia at the end of November last year, reconfirming he is a player to keep a close eye on in this season. Despite this being his course debut, he looks each-way value in a pretty average field.