MyGolfLife Open Each-Way Tips: English trio can grab piece of Pecanwood pie

Main Bet: Andy Sullivan 1pt each-way @ 50/1

In the highly unlikely event of you having overheard me singing in the shower last weekend, you might have heard a particularly woeful attempt at a Tina Turner classic.

The sad truth is that, not only do I possess the vocal talent of a strangled mammal, I am also utterly hapless when it comes to lyrics which explains why I was to be found singing "Nutwood city limits" rather than the correct "Nutbush city limits".

As is often the way with singing in the shower, you find yourself wondering why a particular lyric is worming around in your ear.

It was only when returning to my research for this week's DP World Tour event that I put two and two together: we're in South Africa for the next fortnight, at Pecanwood G&CC this week, in Steyn City next week.

In other words, my subconscious mind, a chaotic spot at the best of times, had thrown the two venues together and alighted on the fact that they very nearly resembled a funk hit of the early 1970s.

I'm sure I'm not the only punter whose mind has been mangled by the game and matters weren't much helped when last week's headline tip Shubhankar Sharma led after 36 holes and played like another word beginning "sh" thereafter.

No matter, a new tournament and also a new course for the circuit this week.

The MyGolfLife Open isn't the most inspiring of tournament titles, but the venue looks rather stunning with the Pecanwood G&CC overlooked by red-tinged rocks that have a touch of Uluru about them.

The course was created by the Jack Nicklaus team and I'll make no apologies for taking that as my over-riding theme this week.

There will always be exceptions, but a driving principle of the group, coming right down from the top man, is that fairways don't intimidate, but the smart golfer will appreciate that there is a better side to hit.

The approaches are what really sort the wheat from the chaff. Distance control is given a thorough examination and the greens often sit at an angle to the fairways.

At a potentially whopping 7,697 yards the card looks massive, but the course is in the resort town of Hartbeespoort, just north of Johannesburg and at altitude so it won't play quite that long.

First pick this week is Englishman Andy Sullivan whose long-term form on Nicklaus tracks, plus plenty of good golf in South Africa, tempts me at a decent price.

There's no doubt that we've got to overlook a sloppy start to the year (MC-47th-MC) on the Desert Swing, but he's had nearly a month to address that and he's definitely good enough to do just that.

Now let's get to the bit ticks against his case. The last time he faced a Nicklaus test he stymied himself with a first round 74 to lie 101st at the London Club but he bounced back to finish 13th.

Before that he was second at halfway in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet before recording 12th.

The year before he won the English Championship at Hanbury Manor by seven shots.

And before that he was ninth and 21st at Gut Larchenhof and 13th at Muirfield Village.

That's a solid bank of Nicklaus form, the like of which not many in the field have in their logbook.

If we throw South Africa into the mix he has wins at Royal Johannesburg and Glendower at altitude, top three finishes at Gary Player and Leopard Creek, and he was sixth on his last visit to the country at the end of 2020.

Add in four wins at this level and I really like his price and chances.

Next Best: Ross Fisher 1pt each-way @ 55/1

Second pick is another Englishman with strong Nicklaus and South African form, but Ross Fisher has five DP World Tour wins to his name.

He was last seen finishing like a train, with a pair of 66s, for second place at the Ras al Khaimah Classic.

It might well have been a flash in the pan, but if it's a sign that he's found a bit of form then this week might offer a great chance to capitalise.

The 41-year-old has tossed plenty of good finishes together in the past so it wouldn't be unheralded if he did well again this week.

He was second twice in four starts in late 2014, made back-to-back seconds in late 2016, was third twice in four starts in mid-2017, again had consecutive runner-up finishes late that year (and added one more second place within another four appearances).

True, he hasn't won in eight years, but that last win did come in South Africa at Copperleaf, just the other side of Johannesburg from this week's venue (altitude and location ticked).

He's also finished second and fourth at Gary Player CC.

What about Nicklaus layouts? He's a past winner at the London Club, has finished third and eighth at Gut Larchenhof, and made three top 20s at Gleneagles.

Final bet: Richard Bland 1pt each-way @ 40/1

We'll make it a trio of Englishman with the inclusion of Richard Bland.

Back in late 2020 he finished seventh in the Joburg Open and second at the Dunhill Championship, both times being near to the top of the leaderboard all week.

Most folk thought those might be his final hopes dashed of main tour glory.

But he was a winner six months later and the way he has maintained that form has been mightily impressive.

Moreover, a repeat this week against this field could easily see him have a crack at a second win.

Since and including that win in the British Masters he's logged nine top 10 finishes, seven of them would have returned a place payout with this week's terms and one of those was play-off defeat at the end of January.

But I really like that two of them were at Nicklaus designs: fourth in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet and third in the Cazoo Classic at the London Club.

* Having difficulty working out the place returns? Fret no more - you can easily work out your returns with our new each way calculator.