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Rule out Europeans, target the South African guys in the betting

| 13.12.2010

It may not hold the prestige as tournaments such as the Open or the US Open, but the South African Open is the second oldest national open in the world and plenty of big names are around to win it this week.

Richie Ramsey is the defending champion and after witnessing Pablo Martin successfully defend his Alfred Dunhill Championship last week, the Scot will be hoping to match the Spaniard and is 50/1 to repeat his success.

But considering European players have a horrible record in this event, just three wins in the tournaments 117-year history, it’s worth focusing on the South African’s in the betting market.

Over the past 12 years, only three non South African’s have won this event with the likes of Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark and Trevor Immelman all winning, and Els, Goosen and Clark head the betting market for the South African Open.

Els is the favourite at 8/1, but the South African Open is returning to the Durban Country Club for the first time since 2005 and the winner on that occasion was Clark, who is a 12/1 shot to win this week.

Goosen is available at 10/1 but Charl Schwartzel is 12/1 and after finishing T2 last week in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, Schwartzel is mirroring his form of last year.

Schwartzel finished second in the Alfred Dunhill Championship last year before finishing 26 in the South African Open, but Schwartzel went on to win his next two tournaments and is a contender this year.

Last year’s Open champion, Louis Oosthuizen is a big price at 20/1 but after his poor showing last week – he failed to make the cut – a better bet is Anthony Michael who is available at 66/1.

The 25-year-old rookie finished T2 last week and the exciting youngster is high in confidence ahead of this week’s European tour event.

A £10 stake on Anthony Michael winning the South African Open would return £670. New customers can sign up here for a free £10 bet.

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Author

Robbie Morris

Robbie studied sports journalism at the University of Gloucestershire, an establishment chosen for its proximity to Cheltenham racecourse, where he was a season ticket holder. Upon graduation, Robbie was a contributor to GolfPunk, a national magazine aimed at ridding golf of its traditionalist image, before joining the news.ladbrokes team.