Africa Open 2015: Bourdy a tasty price to end Protea dominance
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The sixth edition of the Africa Open as a co-sanctioned European Tour event will be hosted at the East London Golf Club once again, where history points punters towards a host of home-grown players.
All five prior titles on Africa’s Eastern Cape have gone the way of South African players, though Thomas Aiken won’t be in the field to defend his title, neither two-time champion Louis Oosthuizen.
The betting would have you believe that 8/1 favourite Andy Sullivan hailed from the Rainbow nation, but like 40/1-shot Oliver Fisher who lost in play-off last year, the Nuneaton native is very much English.
Sullivan is however hot property this season, especially on the African continent.
The 28-year-old opened up his European Tour winning account by claiming the South African Open Championship in early January, before a glorious return to Johannesburg just last week, where three sub 69 rounds scooped him the Joburg Open in the same city.
Aside from the miserly odds and the unlikelihood of lightning-striking three times, a word of caution to the Sullivan bandwagon jumpers; his previous pair of top five finishes this season (1,4) have been followed by no better than 47th.
Given their authority at the East London club, each-way money would not be wasted on any of the South Africans at the sharp end of the market, who all have course form.
14/1 chance Jaco Van Zyl gets the nod there, having recorded top five finishes in his last four starts at the tournament.
Tucked away at 25/1 is our man Gregory Bourdy, who has finishes of 20th and second in two previous starts over the 6,616 yard, par 71 layout.
A harsh missed cut by a single stroke in Joburg, after two opening 70s, shouldn’t detract from the way the Frenchman has been swinging the club this season.
Two out of three prior starts produced a fifth-place finish on the Tour, while 13-under-par at the Dubai Desert Classic in between earned him a top-15 posting.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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