Find Me a 100 Winner: Hansen a huge price to double up

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JB Hansen with the Joburg Open two years ago

Big Price Golf Tips. Steve Rawlings returns to preview this week's Joburg Open on the DP World Tour as he tries to find a big-price winner.

  • Wentworth form gives Morrison a chance

  • Dane in search of another November success

  • Big-hitting Spaniard worth chancing

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Last week's RSM Classic pretty much summed up the sort of year this column's had.

My strongest fancy was Sepp Straka, who I backed largely on the strength of his victory at the Honda Classic in February, but he never got going and he missed the cut.

Ironically, the tournament was won by Canada's Adam Svensson, who I put up in the column at the Honda Classic at 140.0139/1 when he finished a disappointing ninth after a decent start, so the clues were there.

With no PGA Tour event, I've been looking for clues on the DP World Tour this week as the new season kicks off in Australia and South Africa.

Matt Cooper has looked at the Australian PGA Championship here and I've focused my attention in South Africa where we visit Houghton Golf Course for the first time since 2004 for the Joburg Open, which I've previewed here.

History suggests a longshot can prevail

Although I really do like the chances of this week's favourite, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, history tells us there's a strong possibility of a shock result this week.

As many as four of the last five winners of the Joburg Open have gone off at a triple figure price with odds ranging from 150.0149/1 to 230.0229/1 and outsiders fared well at this venue when it was last used - for the first five editions of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The cat was already out of the bag with the 2001 and 2002 course winners, Adam Scott, and Justin Rose. Scott went off at 28/1 and Rose 50s, but the other three course winners at the start of the century went off at triple figure prices.

Anthony Wall was a 100/1 shot in 2000, Mark Foster was a 150/1 chance in 2003 and Marcel Siem, who's in the field again this week, was a 130/1 poke in 2004 so a shock winner this week is certainly plausible.

All five winners at this venue at start of the century were winning for the first time on the DP World Tour and none of them were South Africans.

That's unusual for a South African event where the home contingent tends to fare well and it's perhaps worth noting that only one of the last three editions of this event have been won by a South African too.

With all that in mind, I was tempted by the French Challenge Tour graduate, Jeong Weon Ko, who led three events in-a-row through three rounds in September.

Wo clearly has a bright future and I wouldn't put anyone off backing him but the fact that he's yet to win and that he failed to convert three 54-hole leads on a smaller stage is slightly disconcerting so in the end I've plumped for two men with much more experience and a youngster that's already won on the Challenge Tour...

Wentworth form points to Morrison

As highlighted in the preview, I felt form at Wentworth maybe worth close consideration and that's one of the reasons I'm giving James Morrison a chance.

The Englishman led the 2012 edition of the BMW PGA Championship by four strokes before dropping away to finish 10th and he was 11th two years later having sat fifth at halfway.

After a poor season, Morrison finished a disappointing 86th on the Race to Dubai but he keeps his card and I suspect he's travelled to South Africa in an attempt to get off to a fast start to this campaign.

Morrison is a streaky player that can go very low out of the blue and he has a bit of event form to boast having finished seventh in 2017 when he opened up with a 64.

Back 2u James Morrison @ 110.0109/1
Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4

Hansen a huge price to double up

Morrison looks to be here to kick start his campaign and almost unbelievably, Denmark's JB Hansen is trying to win back his card.

As already highlighted, four of the last five winners of this event went off at a triple-figure price and Hansen, who went off at 60.059/1 when he won two years ago, is the odd man out.

Hansen then won the penultimate event of the 2021 season in November last year - the Dubai Championship - but the win didn't carry the normal two-year exemption and after a disappointing campaign, that saw the Dane finish 142nd on the Race to Dubai, he was forced to traipse to Q School to try and win back his playing privileges.

Hansen shot 66 in round three at Q School, but it was too little too late after rounds of 74 and 76 and he must be wondering what earth has just happened to his career.

The shock of losing his card could be the kick up the backside required to reignite the classy Dane's career and given he's won in November in each of the last two years, that he's in search of his second victory in this event, and that he finished seventh at Wentworth in 2020 (sat second with a round to go), I thought he was worth chancing at 220.0219/1.

Back 1u JB Hansen @ 220.0219/1
Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4

Big-hitting Spaniard worth chancing at a huge price

Hansen may have failed at Q-School but Spain's Alejandro Del Rey didn't.

The 24-year-old, who won the Big Green Egg German Challenge on the Challenge Tour as recently as July, narrowly missed out on promotion to the DP World Tour when finishing 22nd in the Road to Mallorca but rather than let the disappointment get to him, he went off to Q-School where he signed off with a sensational 63 to finish fifth and earn his card.

Del Rey hits it a country mile off the tee and that might stand him in good stead here. The last man to win here, Marcel Siem, hit it further than anyone else off the tee and all the winners here at the turn of the century gave it a good biff. He's another interesting runner at odds in excess of 200.0199/1.

Back 1u Alejandro Del Rey @ 280.0279/1
Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4

STEVE'S 2022 FIND ME A 100 WINNER P/L

Staked: 246 units
Returned: 100 units
P/L: -146 units

*You can follow me on Twitter @SteveThePunter

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Recommended Bets

Back 2u James Morrison @ 110.0109/1
Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4

Back 2u JB Hansen @ 220.0219/1
Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4

Back 1u Alejandro Del Rey @ 280.0279/1
Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.35/4

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