The DP World Tour remains in Africa for this weeks SDC Championship at St Francis Links, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The 156 field (top 65 including ties make the cut) will all be playing for a share of the $1.5M prize purse with the winner collecting the SDC trophy & a winning cheque for $250,000.
Matthew Baldwin returns to defend his maiden DPWT title from last year when running away in the end with seven shots too spare. His winning scorecard from 2023 read 270,-18.
St Francis Links will be playing 7,192 yards long this week, it’s a par 72 Semi- Links course where the elements will again play its part in proceedings with high winds expected, talking about weather, here’s the forecast.
Breezes are forecast to reach upwards of 30mph, definitely enough for concern with mostly sunny periods & cloudy intervals throughout.
This event will not be available in the UK this week but local channel Supersport will be broadcasting live coverage.
So let’s move on with this weeks SDC Championship betting tips.
Niklas Norgaard Moller
For my first & main selection at St Francis Links I’m going to recommend Niklas Norgaard Moller 50/1 EW SpreadEx / Sporting Index.
The 31yrs old from Denmark hasn’t missed a cut this year at four attempts with three of those being no worse than 34th place.
One if those was a very good Top 10 effort when finishing T8th at the Bahrain Championship just a few weeks back.
The last time the Dane played in South Africa was a couple of months ago at the Joburg Open in Johannesburg where he again made the cut finishing T37th place.
Last year at this event & venue Norgaard Moller finished a very respectable T23rd so he can definitely play good golf around St Francis Links & handle the elements. He can hit the ball further than almost everyone in this week's SDC lineup & he’s ranked 7th on the DPWT for Driving Distance but also has impressive Greens in Regulation figures where he’s ranked 12th on the tour.
Both of the above stats, if all going well, could be the winning formula at Eastern Cape
With the wind expected to play its part in proceedings, Niklas can be relied upon in this breezy environment, the winds were blowing in Bahrain where he finished T8th as mentioned earlier. He was also 1st for GIR in Bahrain so he can still hit those targets amidst tricky conditions. Both course & conditions are all set up for Niklas Norgaard Moller to finally bag a DPWT crown & he could be the Saint at Francis Links on Sunday afternoon.
Thomas Aitken
For my next selection to win the SDC Championship I’m going to point you all in the direction of Thomas Aitken 50/1 EW Ladbrokes / Coral.
The homegrown 40yrs old from Johannesburg & three time DP World Tour champion will relish a trip to St Francis Links with the home support for added advantage. Last weekend at the Kenya Open the South African was up there challenging but had to eventually settle for T23rd place. He also finished 7th at the Mauritius Open at the tail end of last year with 15th at the Qatar Masters & T17th at the Joburg Open also being good recent efforts.
Thomas Aitken finished inside the Top 10 at this event & venue in 2023 & he can go much better than his tremendous T9th effort this time around. It’s been a while but Thomas Aitken can get back in the winner’s circle with a victory on home soil this weekend.
Ewen Ferguson
For my final pick this week, let’s have a punt on one of my own, Ewen Ferguson 16/1 EW Ladbrokes/Coral.
The 27yrs old Glaswegian has been on fire recently & what Scotsman doesn’t enjoy some gid auld traditional Links Golf with the breezier the better? I’m not usually one for backing favourites in the golf betting industry but I’m all for 16/1 favourites
T7th at the Kenya Open only days ago then T9th before that at the Qatar Masters means it’s two Top 10’s for the young Scot at the same number of attempts, impressive stuff. You can also add T11th at the Dubai Invitational to begin the year so that’s three Top 20 finishes already in 2024.
The Flying Scotsman was 12th at the Scottish Open last year & that effort at the Renaissance Club could be a good indicator for St Francis Links but I’d be more inclined to rely on Ewen Ferguson’s amazing T3rd effort from
2023 when he played this tournament last as my guide.
I’ve had enough of surprise winners already this year across the PGA & DP World Tours as have you so hopefully Ewen Ferguson can restore business as usual with a victory on the Eastern Cape shores this weekend.
SDC Championship Tips
- Niklas Norgaard Moller 50/1 EW SpreadEx / Sporting Index.
- Thomas Aitken 50/1 EW Ladbrokes / Coral
- Ewen Ferguson 16/1 EW Ladbrokes/Coral
PGA Tour Tips
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