Alfred Dunhill Championship: Course and current form stats

• LIV pro Grace 18/119.00 can reign on home soil

• Bezuidenhout 14/115.00 ready to grab second win at Creek

• Has Matteo 100/1101.00 rediscovered his mojo?

Tournament and Course Notes

• Leopard Creek has hosted more DP World Tour events than any other South African course. This week's instalment will be the 18th, and is also being co-sanctioned by South Africa's Sunshine Tour;

• Designed by Gary Player and opened 27 years ago, Leopard Creek made its European Tour debut in 2004. It is a picturesque location, situated on the southern boundary of the vast Kruger National Park and approximately 30 miles from the Mozambique border;

• The 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 involved replacing 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;

• Prior to hosting the Alfred Dunhill Championship for the first time in 2004, Leopard Creek staged South Africa's Tour Championship on four occasions.

Latest betting for this week's Alfred Dunhill Championship

Good Current Form

Among a host of golfers in decent current form are South Africans: Dean Burmester 11/26.50, Thriston Lawrence 16/117.00, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 14/115.00 and Louis De Jager 33/134.00.

Burmester is chasing a third victory in three weeks, although a better bet may be Bezuidenhout who won at Leopard Creek in 2020.

One player a lot further down the food chain is Jaco Van Zyl 300/1301.00 who seems a little over-priced.

The 44-year-old is enjoying a consistent run of results, is a 15-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, and has a best finish of third at Leopard Creek. He could be a daring E/W option ahead of Christmas, in this fairly mediocre field.

And if you wish to try your luck with one of the overseas pros, then check out Matthias Schmid 28/129.00, Gavin Green 50/151.00, Matteo Manassero 100/1101.00or Francesco Laporta 100/1101.00.

Schmid, the world No 145, has posted a brace of podiums since the middle of October, including one on the PGA Tour.

Manassero, who is a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour this year, tied-fifth on Sunday at the South African Open, and maybe finally getting his mojo back.

The 30-year-old Italian won three times on the European Tour while still a teenager and 10 years ago triumphed in the PGA at Wentworth.

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Good Course Form

Three big-name South Africans who have good records at Leopard Creek are Branden Grace 18/119.00, Louis Oosthuizen 16/117.00 and Charl Schwartzel 28/129.00.

All three are currently members of the Saudi-backed LIV Tour and therefore have world rankings lower than their performances deserve.

Grace, who is currently ranked outside the top 600, is a former champion at the Creek, where he has also posted two other top-four finishes.

On the LIV Tour he completed the 2023 season ninth in the standings, thanks to a hat-trick of podium finishes.

Oosthuizen is a two-time runner-up at Leopard Creek where he tied-seventh 12 months ago.

The former Open champion did not have a great season on the LIV circuit, with just three top-10s from 13 starts.

As for Schwartzel, no one has a better Creek history than him.

His remarkable record reads: four wins, four runner-up finishes and two other top fours.

However, there was just a single top-10 on the LIV Tour during 2023, which arrived back in April. He tied-45th last week at Blair Atholl.

Finally, the 40-year-old Scott Jamieson 33/134.00 is another player with a good course history: Among his five top-12 finishes, there have been a brace of podiums.

The Scotsman tied-third in Qatar during the final week of October and is playing in South Africa for a third straight week - so should be fully acclimatised to conditions.

Stroke Averages

Lowest 12 At Leopard Creek (2015-22)
Average .... (Rounds)
69.85: Scott Jamieson (20)
70.20: Branden Grace (20)
70.20: Louis Oosthuizen (10)
70.31: Dylan Frittelli (16)
70.38: Charl Schwartzel (16)
71.08: Jayden Trey Schaper (12)
71.14: Brandon Stone (22)
71.50: Dean Burmester (18)
71.58: Wilco Nienaber (12)
71.60: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (20)
71.60: Espen Kofstad (10)
71.70: Dale Whitnell (10)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

Read Steve Rawlings Alfred Dunhill Championship Preview