Nedbank Golf Championship First-Round Leader Tips: Selections from 40/1 to 50/1

Dave Tindall
08 November 2023
3:00 min read

Jason Scrivener can get out of the blocks quickly

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The DP World Tour heads to South Africa and Dave Tindall has three each-way bets to top the leaderboard come the end of round one in Sun City...

50/151.00 Jason Scrivener has two strong starts here
40/141.00 Thriston Lawrence can go low on this course
50/151.00 Zander Lombard has been going low in R1

Weather forecast for Thursday

The clue is in the name and golden discs of sun are the only weather icon being used on day one.

Temperatures start in the mid-50s and peak at in the high-70s at 2pm. Winds are light but double from 4mph in the morning to 8-9mph in mid-afternoon.

With tee-times bunched - the first three-balls (from the 1st and 10th) go out at 09.10 and the last at 11.10 - there's no am/pm advantage.

Back Jason Scrivener @ 50/151.00

Judging by his scores in round one, South African-born Aussie Jason Scrivener feels an instant fizz when he returns to his place of birth.

Scrivener has ended the first day inside the top 20 in each of his last four starts in South Africa and the best of those came on this course.

The 34-year-old opened with 69s on Gary Player's ultra-long par 72 in both 2018 and 2019, the last two times he played here.

Those scores were good enough for fifth and seventh on the Thursday leaderboard and he went on to finish 16th and third so clearly this is a course he likes.

Scrivener is in pretty good nick after three top 25s in his last five starts, including a ninth in the Qatar Masters last time. He was in the top dozen after 18 holes in two of those.

Back Scrivener to make another early impact from his 10.48 tee-time.

Back Jason Scrivener each way @ 50/151.00

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Back Thriston Lawrence @ 40/141.00

Of those playing under the actual South African flag rather than this just being their birthplace, the one I like best is Thriston Lawrence.

Lawrence won the BMW International Open in Germany back in June and impressed again when third in September's Irish Open.

Relevant to this market, last time out he made an early impression in the Qatar Masters when seventh after 18 holes and eighth after 36.

And wind back to last year and he had a piece of the first-round lead in the South African Open after a sparkling 64 and turned that into a pillar-to-post victory.

As for this course, he's recorded three top 20s in his last four starts in the various tournaments held at Sun City.

That includes a 15th last year when a 65 on day three vaulted him up the leaderboard from 27th to third.

Hopefully he can roll out another 7-under round but this time on day one. He begins his bid at 10.15.

Back Thriston Lawrence each way @ 40/141.00

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Back Zander Lombard @ 50/151.00

Let's add another South African and back Zander Lombard for FRL.

The local man was a big story here on his penultimate start in the event in 2019 when opening with a 68 to sit fourth after day one and then moving to the top of the leaderboard with a Friday 65.

Lombard was still out in front after 54 holes before a poor Sunday left him in eighth.

He made another significant move at Gary Player CC in the 2021 South African Open held here, leaping from 41st at halfway to ninth after a third-round 67.

A runner-up in the co-sanctioned Jonsson Workwear Open in his last home tournament, Lombard has taken the eye recently with a series of fast starts.

Beginning from July's Scottish Open, these are his R1 scores: 68, 69, 66, 67, 70, 67, 65, 66, 68, 69.

He's ended day one in the top seven in three of his last four starts, the middle of those helping him bank second place in last month's Open de Espana.

Also tied 10th in the Open de France, the in-form Lombard looks a good bet to shine from his 09.31 tee time.

Back Zander Lombard each way @ 50/151.00

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