The start of the new DP World Tour season continues this week in South Africa with the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club.
The tournament is far from one of the biggest on the calendar for DP World Tour players but it is one that should be of interest considering it has been the launchpad for several careers. Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel all won their first-ever tournaments at this event so another star could be born this week.
The event is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour; a golf tour based in South and Eastern Africa so there are plenty of African golfers taking part this week, which also adds something new to the event for DP World Tour regulars.
Nine of the last 11 winners at Leopoard Creek Country Club hail from South Africa and with plenty of hometown heroes teeing it up this week, that could quite easily become 10 of the last 12 on Sunday. The defending champion, Louis Oosthuizen, is the favourite with most golf betting sites to retain his crown.
Ahead of the first tee times on Thursday morning, here are our Alfred Dunhill Championship betting tips.
Alfred Dunhill Championship betting tips
Louis Oosthuizen EW (Eight places) – 17/2
Backing the favourite last week at the Hero World Challenge earned us yet another win on this page with Scottie Scheffler winning in the Bahamas and we are following suit this week. Coming in as the defending champion is never easy but the 42-year-old has the game to perform well again at Leopard Creek.
Oosthuizen has always been famed for being a good putter and performance on the greens have been critical at Leopard Creek ever since they were transformed from Creeping Bent to ultradwarf Bermuda in 2018. This has made the greens far firmer and quicker which has brought the average winning score down significantly.
The main reason for that is because putting is now tricky around this track. Luckily for Oosthuizen, he comes into the event after a stellar year with the flatstick on the LIV Tour. His putting average for the 2024 season was just 1.53 – the second-lowest average on the whole tour.
Adrian Otageui EW (Eight places) – 40/1
The switch of turf on the greens wasn't the only change that the course made in 2018 as the fairways were also changed from Kikuyu to Bermuda Grass. This has also made the fairways a lot firmer which has naturally brought fairway bunkers into play more than ever before.
Bunker avoidance off the tee is therefore going to be important this week for anyone who is going to do well. Last season on the DP World Tour nobody was more accurate off the tee in the respect of finding the fairway than Spaniard, Adrian Otagaeui, and he is playing this week.
Otageui also has the added benefit of previous form around here. In 2022, he finished as the runner-up with a score of -16 – a score that would have been enough to win in three of the previous five editions of the tournament.
Brandon Stone (Eight places) – 28/1
The final stat worth looking at this week is greens in regulation. While it's always handy to give yourself birdie and eagle opportunities, having the skill to do so when playing on firm and fast greens isn't exactly straightforward.
On the DP World Tour in 2024, Brandon Stone ranked fourth for Greens in Regulation percentage with a total of 72.92%. None of the three players who ranked higher than him last season are teeing it up this week so Stone could be a shrewd selection at 28/1.
What's more, Stone is also a previous winner here after lifting the title at Leopard Creek in 2016 – the final edition before the aforementioned course modifications.
Alfred Dunhill Championship Challenge tips
- Louis Oosthuizen EW – 17/2 @ Kwiff
- Adrian Otageui EW– 40/1 @ Kwiff
- Brandon Stone EW – 28/1 @ Kwiff
Andy is tipster who has been calling Golf tournaments for several years across many different platforms. He has covered all tournaments from the Asian Tour to the Masters.
