Steyn City Championship Each-Way Tips: Fab Zanotti can enjoy the good life

Main Bet: Fabrizio Zanotti 1pt each-way @ 66/1

A peculiar and infuriating first event of two in South Africa last week with Pablo Larrazabal, a recent tip in this column and a player who was on the shortlist, maintaining his recent strong form to land the title in a three-way play-off.

One particular curiosity was what happened to his price on Thursday. A 33/1 shot before the off, he was an afternoon starter in round one and, after the morning wave went very low (hitting 10-under), the Spaniard was backed at 90.089/1 for small amounts on the exchange before he teed off.

Perhaps a good reminder to us all to keep an eye on the markets at all times throughout the week.

Another new tournament and new venue this week, but once again the field is set for a Jack Nicklaus test at The Club at Steyn City in Johannesburg.

Last week's picks were unapologetic in following golfers who have fared well on the 18-time major winner's design team's layouts and second pick Ross Fisher landed the each way spoils.

Why did Larrazabal come close to selection? Well, he made a play-off at Nicklaus' Gleneagles track and so did fourth-placed George Coetzee.

That's enough for me to retain faith in this strategy.

The owners of these new courses might be taken with the idea that Nicklaus himself has a hand in their creation, I'm somewhat more dubious. But I am content that he has impressed upon the office that every layout should feature his key dynamics: width from the tee (but always one side of it which the smart golfer will aim for) and a probing test of distance control with approach play.

So we'll once again make three selections who are proven on Nicklaus courses and who have not been spotted by the compilers.

Steyn City, by the way, is an ... interesting spot.

It was created by Douw Steyn whose hilltop mansion, complete with waterfalls and terraced gardens, is surrounded by a wall that resembles an aqueduct and overlooks the entire gated property.

It's a self-sufficient development with hospitals, shopping malls and offices, in addition to the golf course and luxury homes.

So it's JG Ballard-style self-sufficiency rather than Tom and Barbara Good growing runner beans and keeping pigs in the back garden.

Good is another word for Fab and that leads us, admittedly via an appallingly tortuous route, to first pick Fabrizio Zanotti.

The Paraguayan is on an excellent run of consistent form at the moment, playing all four rounds in 15 consecutive events, a run that stretches all the way back to July last year (he was also bang in the hunt for the win at the recent Dubai Desert Classic until the final round).

What the two-time DP World Tour winner needs is something to turn relentless golf into winning golf and another Nicklaus test might be it.

His first win at this level came at the Golden Bear's Gut Larchenhof design and he got off to a decent start last week at Pecanwood with a 65 for tied ninth.

After that, his approach game deserted him which really hasn't been happening for a long while and, moreover, he was stellar in that part of his game on his previous Nicklaus start at Mount Juliet last summer.

If he can rediscover his mean form with the irons he can capitalise on that excellent run of results.

Next Best: Ross Fisher 1pt each-way @ 33/1

Second and third selections are repeats of last week, but for subtly different reasons.

Last week's winner Pablo Larrazabal had been building towards his success with a series of good results: T25th, T35th, sixth and third.

Can Ross Fisher replicate that? He'd finished T47th, T18th and second ahead of sixth last week and I think he's been a little overlooked.

I made the point last week that he's made something of a habit throughout his career of tossing high finishes together.

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, and again had consecutive runner-up finishes late that year (he even added another within another four appearances).

He's also won in Johannesburg so the altitude shouldn't bother him, has a Nickaus win a The London Club and he ranked fourth for Strokes Gained Approaches last week.

Final bet: Andy Sullivan 1pt each-way @ 66/1

Andy Sullivan stays on the team because I remain convinced that if he finds his mojo he can fly again on a Nicklaus layout.

He got off to a good enough start last week: three-under through three, four-under through the turn, five-under after the first round.

He didn't kick on and, once that happened, he's very much a fellow who can lose focus when the wind isn't in his sails.

If I figured he was worth a go last week, with an inflated price this time around I figure he needs further support (if we were talking 8/1 out to 12/1 it would be a different matter, but we're not).

I don't expect a 50/1 or 66/1 shot to always contend, I aim to support them when their chance is greater than the odds imply which Sullivan's are.

Before last week, his Nicklaus form read: T13th at The London Club (after a very slow start), T12th at Mount Juliet (second at halfway), winner at Hanbury Manor by seven shots, ninth and T21st at Gut Larchenhof, and T13th at Muirfield Village.

That's good stuff and he also has two wins on the high veldt in the South African Open and also the Joburg Open.

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