While the stars of golf are battling it out in 18 hole combat over in Austin, the DP World Tour regulars get the chance to tee it up in South Africa once again when the Jonsson Workwear Open begins on Thursday.
This is the inaugural staging of this event but those who competed in the Steyn City Championship around this time a year ago will be familiar with the venue. We will get another new champion crowned this week.
The Course
We are at The Club in Steyn City for the first running of the Jonsson Workwear Open this week. The course is a Jack Nicklaus design which is a par 72 which can stretch out to a lengthy 7,716 yards. As we always stress whenever we are in this part of the world though, we are at altitude so the ball flies further through the air which means that the course doesn’t play to a full yardage. It remains fairly long and is exposed so the wind can be a factor.
Whenever you see that Jack Nicklaus designs a track you know the two important features are going to be the key to success are excellent approach play and a hot putter. The fairways here are extremely generous so there isn’t too much of a demand from the tee so this is all about the approach work and converting the opportunities that are presented. Water is in play on seven of the holes and there is a lot of bunkering but we still expect scoring to be low.
The Field
When you consider that the stars of the DP World Tour are away in Austin and those who just fell short of getting in the Match Play are getting ready for The Masters, we don’t have a brilliant field this week. With the event being co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour there is a mix of DP World Tour regulars and the best that the South African contingent have to offer in what is a competitive collection of players.
There are four players in the top 100 in the world rankings teeing it up this week in Adri Arnaus, Adrian Otaegui, Thriston Lawrence and Jordan Smith while Ockie Strydom, Sami Valimaki and Sebastian Soderberg will all look to build on their top 10 ranking in the Race to Dubai standings. Four other members of the top 20 in those standings are here too with Julien Brun, Daniel Gavins, Joost Luiten and Dan Bradbury all lining up. Shaun Norris won the Steyn City Championship here last year and he’s in the field this week too.
Market Leaders
Jordan Smith has been a favourite for a few tournaments recently and he is the 18/1 market leader this week. He has had three top 25 finishes in his last four starts but he hasn’t really been competitively in the mix and he is beginning to become a little expensive to follow. The weakness of his game is the putter and I don’t think there is any mileage for the winner struggling with the short stick so he is fairly easy to pass over this week.
Joost Luiten and Adri Arnaus are the 22/1 second favourites this week. Luiten had a high when he made an albatross last week but couldn’t finish the tournament strongly and faded into a T9. That was still his third top 10 in succession and he was T10 here last year so he is worth consideration. Arnaus ran into second last week which is his second top 10 finish in his last four starts. He didn’t tee it up here last year but has a good record in South Africa and shouldn’t be written off either.
Niklas Norgaard Moller and Thriston Lawrence are next in the betting at 25/1. Moller doesn’t look to have a great deal going for him at this price on paper but he did finish T21 here a year ago which included a three over 75 in the third round. If he tidies that up he might run ok but he feels a little short to me. Lawrence was T8 here last year and is probably one of the better South African players in the field. He has gone a little quiet since he won the South African Open Championship in December though.
Wilco Nienaber is the only other player who is shorter than 30/1 this week. He can be taken at 28/1 to win on the DP World Tour for the first time. He was in that group who T10 here last year with a pair of 67s to finish the tournament and if he can start in that fashion he could go well. This will be his first DP World Tour event of 2023 so his season hasn’t really got going yet. If you back him you are betting on the potential rather than the form book.
Main Bets
Julien Brun has been on my radar for a little while and he ticks the boxes I’m looking for this week. The Frenchman sits 16 on the DP World Tour in strokes gained on approach and betters that with the putter where he is ranked number eight. Brun sits seventh in stroke average on the DP World Tour and he arrives in this part of the world with four top 12 finishes in seven starts on the season, including in Mauritius where exposed conditions did him no harm whatsoever. Brun has plenty of good South African form to his name and looks to be heading towards a first DP World Tour win. I’ll pay to see if it comes this week.
Sami Valimaki has a couple of runner up finishes to his name and on an exposed course his comfort in the breeze is very much something that interests me here. The negative over the Finn is he finished terribly last week with a final round of 80 but he wasn’t the only one to succumb in those conditions. He certainly didn’t finish badly here last year when he was just outside the top 15 but having finished second twice this season, one of which was in Joburg earlier in the campaign which shows us that the altitude isn’t going to be an issue, he is going along nicely this term. Valimaki sits inside the top 15 for strokes gained with the putter and if he can just put a decent Sunday in he shouldn’t be too far away.
Outsiders
I’ll play a couple of outsiders this week with the first of them being a player who went well here last year and has enough form about him to suggest that he can go well again. That is Sebastian Soderberg, a player who has won the Omega European Masters which suggests that he is comfortable at altitude. He also has a top 15 there which further reinforces that notion. Soderberg is fine in breezy conditions which will be needed this week and he has some solid South African form behind him. He was T10 here last year which would have been much better but for a closing 73. He also finished fifth at the Nedbank so South African conditions and altitude seem to bring about his best golf. At 80/1 I’ll pay to see if that is the case this week.
There is no getting away from the fact that there is an all or nothing record to the results of Ockie Strydom but given the fact he has already delivered the goods for me in South Africa this season I’m happy to see how he goes in a tournament which might just suit him nicely. He has won in Singapore since he won for us in South Africa which suggests that the exposed nature of this course won’t do him any harm. If there is a weakness to the Strydom game on the DP World Tour it comes with the putter but he is actually in the top 25 for putts per GIR on the Sunshine Tour so those woes tend to only present themselves overseas. Strydom was in the top 25 here last year but with the confidence of winning twice since then I think he could go very well here.
Tips
Back J.Brun to win Jonsson Workwear Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back him here:
Back S.Valimaki to win Jonsson Workwear Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Betway (1/5 1-7)
Back S.Soderberg to win Jonsson Workwear Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 76.00 with Betway (1/5 1-7)
Back O.Strydom to win Jonsson Workwear Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Betway (1/5 1-7)
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