Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 12 January 2010 /

Young South African has the stats to back up a good effort at the Joburg Open

Though only one of the three previous Joburg Open winners fitted our triple-figured criteria, the placings suggest this is a good tournament for outsiders. Ten out of the 18 players to register a top-five finish in those three years started the event trading in triple-figures.

Two-thirds of those in the places were South African, and after the home contingent dominated last week's leaderboard, it could make sense to stick with these players again. While obviously there are several potential European winners, the home players enjoy a slight advantage due to their knowledge of conditions, particularly the greens.

Last week's pick Jaco Van Zyl didn't disgrace himself and might be worth considering again, and after consecutive top-10s in these co-sanctioned events, Chris Swanepoel and Michiel Bothma also take the eye.

Instead though, I'm opting for the man who finished third on Sunday, Jbe Kruger. Winner of the Zambia Open back in August, Kruger rates very highly in the driving accuracy and greens in regulation stats on this tour; which are particularly important around this course because of the nature of the rough and small greens. He's only 23 and clearly still has plenty of improvement left in him. Moreover, the bottom line is its not often that odds of [140.0] are available about a player just a few days after he's finished third.

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