19:10 – November 26, 2020
The first spherical of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek has concluded so here is the 18-hole leaderboard with costs to again at 19:00.
After a rating change on the seventeenth gap, from a bogey to a par, one in every of many rating adjustments witnessed at this time, Christiaan Bezuidenhout is simply headed out there by Scott Jamieson, regardless of trailing by 4 after the opening spherical.
Bezuidenhout is in a big group of 16 gamers tied for eighth place that features each of my Find Me a 100 Winner picks, David Horsey and Steven Brown, in addition to Masahiro Kawamura, who was an honorary point out solely, as he wasn’t fairly a large enough worth to be a variety.
The well-supported pre-event favorite, Brandon Stone, is alongside one in every of my pre-event picks, Wilco Nienaber, in a tie for thirty fifth on -1 and 6 off the lead, however the stats suggests they’ve each acquired their work reduce out already…
As highlighted within the In-Play Tactics part of the preview, a quick begin at Leopard Creek has been important of late and 6 of the final seven winners had been contained in the top-four locations after day one.
I’ve backed the 2 leaders, Adrian Meronk and Robin Roussel, modestly however the stats recommend they could be up in opposition to it too. Branden Grace, who gained wire-to-wire in 2014, is the one first spherical chief to win right here.
Both leaders are seeking their first European Tour titles however each tasted victory on the Challenge Tour final 12 months so they are not full novices and I choose to again them than the 2 males instantly behind them on the leaderboard.
Scott Jamieson was a fantastic shout by Dave Tindall in his First Round Leader column and Richard Bland is in cracking type however neither are gamers to go to battle with over 72 holes. Jamieson has a fantastic document in South Africa and his sole success got here within the now defunct Nelson Mandela Championship there eight years in the past however that was over solely 36 holes after the occasion was badly affected by rain and Bland is but to win wherever.
None of the three gamers tied for fifth make any attraction so I’m simply going to go together with the entrance two and see what tomorrow brings.
Pre-Event Selections:
Wilco Nienaber @ 29.028/1
Adri Arnous @ 46.045/1 (added after the preview first published)
Jorge Campillo @ 65.064/1
Pablo Larrazabal @ 75.074/1
Find Me a 100 Winner picks:
Back David Horsey 1u @ 150.0149/1
Place order to lay 8u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.01/1
Back Steven Brown 1u @ 180.0179/1
Place order to lay 8u @ 12.011/1 & 10u @ 2.56/4
In-Play Picks:
Adrian Meronk @ 16.015/1
Robin Roussel @ 30.029/1
*You can comply with me on Twitter @SteveThePunter