• Steve Rawlings thinks Camillo can crack the Creek at 47/148.00

• Schwartzel won't change his spots at 22/123.00

• Johson one of two contenders backed up to 399/1400.00

• Get Dave Tindall's tips for Grant Thornton Invitational

• Tips for first round leader, course stats, players' form and more

Alfred Dunhill Championship tips and predictions

The Punter: Campillo chanced at 47/1

Steve Rawlings: "The course hasn't changed a lot visually but the change from kikuyu to Bermuda grass has sped the whole track up (especially the greens) and the transformation has brought the scoring down considerably. This is a much harder test now which is why Valderrama appears to correlate very nicely now...

"Bezuidenhout won here just weeks after winning at Valderrama, last year's winner, Oosthuizen, finished fourth there on the LIV Golf Tour in July, and the 2022 renewal gave the link a boost too. The runner-up, Adrian Otaegui, had won at Valderrama two months earlier and two others highlighted the connection.

"Scott Jamieson, who led after rounds two and three two years ago, before a poor final round saw him finish 11^th, sat tied for second at the halfway stage of the 2017 Andalucía Masters before eventually finishing sixth and Laurie Canter, who finished third, had led the 2021 edition of the Andalucía Masters by three strokes after three rounds before finishing fourth.

"That form alone is enough to demonstrate the link but there's plenty of other more obscure evidence to suggest the two venues correlate very nicely now...

"It's impossible to make a strong case for Jorge Campillo on his previous form at Leopard Creek given his course figures read MC-44-MC-41-MC-52 but he caught the eye on Sunday, when he shot 68 around the Gary Player Country Club in testing conditions to finish 13^th.

"Danny Willett was the only man to better that round on Sunday and the Spaniard is clearly hitting his irons nicely given he's ranked 11^th, sixth and eighth for Strokes Gained: Tee-to Green in the three starts made since he lost a protracted playoff at the Andalucía Masters at the end of October."

Each-Way Tips: 22/1 Schwartzel a leopard who doesn't change his spots

Matt Cooper: "The German Matti Schmid appealed but his price is tight for a fellow who is yet to win and, at less than 20/1, the other four "Big Five" are out of range for the each-way column but the veteran Charl Schwartzel is the right side of 20s.

"On recent form he is deservedly the outsider of the five but he absolutely deserves respect. In 16 tournament starts on this course he has four wins and five runner-up finishes - the last of them just 12 months ago. He's also been third and fourth in the last five editions.

"That's an exceptional bank of track form and he was also the 54-hole leader 12 months ago. All of this would mean little if we settled for the idea that he's gone flat in recent times. But he was actually second just two weeks ago in the International Series Qatar when carding a 65 in the second round."

Find Me a 100 Winner: Longshots chanced at 119/1 and 399/1

Steve Rawlings: "It was impossible not to be impressed by the way the 24-year-old American closed out the event two weeks ago in Melbourne, but it was no surprise at all to see him start slowly at the Nedbank last week.

"His head must have been scrambled after his victory Down Under, so it was hardly surprising to see him kick off the event with rounds of 75 and 77 to sit tied for 59^th at halfway. Trailing by 13, his week was effectively over but he could barely have started round three better, playing his first 11 holes in seven-under-par in very difficult conditions.

"He lost his way after that, playing his last seven holes in a calamitous six-over-par. But he returned to the track on Sunday to shoot an impressive four-under-par 68 to climb from outside the top 50 into a tie for 24^th and if he picks up from where he left off, he could easily contend again."

First-Round Leader Tips: Picks from 40/1 to 90/1

Dave Tindall: "Brandon Stone's best golf is way better than most in this field and he's been showing flashes of that for the last few months.

"The South African has reeled off five straight top 20s - Open de France, Andalucia Masters, Genesis Championship, Abu Dhabi Championship and Nedbank Golf Challenge - and more of that will make him a title contender here.

"He certainly has some history at Leopard Creek and although his last couple of visits were disappointing - not surprising given his lack of form at the time - Stone won this event by six shots in 2016, the second of his three DP World Tour titles.

"The 31-year-old has twice been in the top four after 18 holes here while he's been showing good FRL form in the latter part of 2024, landing in the top 11 after the opening lap in four of his last eight events. Put it together and he's well worth a first-round leader punt at 40/1 from his 11.20 tee-time."

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "This gently undulating parkland layout incorporates many of the characteristics of the local area. All of which means there is no shortage of trees, bushes or dense vegetation. There was no tournament at the Creek in either 2017 (when the course underwent an extensive renovation) or 2021 (after Covid returned to haunt the Rainbow Nation).

"Water comes into play on eight holes, while the aforementioned renovation led to a change of turf on both fairways and greens. Where once was Kikuya, the fairways have now been sown with the faster-running Bermudagrass. As for putting surfaces, the original Creeping Bent is now ultradwarf Bermuda. A number of fairway bunkers were also repositioned during the upgrade, although routing remains untouched...

"With nine of South Africa's top-10 ranked golfers teeing-up this week, the likelihood of a home victory looms large. And especially in a field that appears to be mediocre at best. This week's entries include a handful of pros who have played most of 2024 on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour. These are defending champion Louis Oosthuizen 15/2, four-time winner at the Creek Charl Schwartzel 20/1 and Dean Burmester 8/1."

Grant Thornton Invitational tips and predictions

Dave Tindall's three picks up to 10/1

Dave Tindall: "This is obviously a quirky event and such tournaments can often throw up specialists. Harris English and Matt Kuchar won this three times in its previous guise when an all-men's tournament and Kuchar and Megan Khang might get a bit of each-way love. Khang was fourth with Denny McCarthy last year.

"But if playing the repeat feat angle, there is plenty of logic in backing Jason Day and Lydia Ko to defend their title. Putting counts for plenty in this event and Ko steals a march on plenty of her rivals here in that category.

"An incredible summer from Ko ended with victories in the Olympics, Women's British Open and Kroger Queen City Championship while her course record here is pretty special too.

"As well as winning here with Day, she's twice won the Tour Championship here (most recently in 2022) and in that same event a couple of weeks ago she closed with a 63 to post third. Day has two wins and a third in his last four starts in this event and was eighth in the recent Aussie PGA.

"The only negative is his very lacklustre performance (joint-last) at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas but that could easily prove a red herring.

"His record in this event carries far more weight in my eyes and his top 10 Down Under shows there is nothing wrong. In fact, coming back from Australia to the Bahamas could just have left him out of whack and he'll be raring to go again with his body clock now fully adjusted."

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