SDC Championship 2023: Form stats for this week's tournament

• St Francis is a regular Sunshine Tour venue

• Young Jayden has strong course history

• Valimaki poised for second DP career title

The DP World Tour has travelled more than 3,000 miles south to tee-up at this week's event on South Africa's Eastern Cape.

The SDC Championship is the first of two successive DP World Tour stops to be staged in South Africa, with this week's venue St Francis Links making its debut at this level.

St Francis Links is almost as far south as you can travel in the vast Rainbow Country, with the SDC Championship also doubling up as a tournament co-sanctioned by South Africa's Sunshine Tour.

Opened in December 2006, the course is located around one mile from the coast and has kikuyu grass fairways and bent grass putting surfaces.

The undulating fairways need to be treated with respect, as there is plenty of dense vegetation waiting to gobble-up any errant drive or approach. Water comes into play on four holes, late in the round.

This Jack Nicklaus-designed course has staged a handful of tournaments on the Sunshine Tour, most recently the South African PGA Championship in November 2022.

Latest betting for this week's SDC Championship

Six To Watch

Julien Brun: Continued his strong start to 2023 by finishing tied-seventh in Kenya on Sunday, which was his third top-10 in four starts. The Frenchman is a three-time winner at Challenge Tour level.

Ryo Hisatsune: Currently enjoying a good streak of form, thanks to three top-10s from his last four starts. Finished on the podium at last week's tournament in Kenya.

Thriston Lawrence: The 26-year-old, world No 85, is seeking a fourth DP World Tour title in a little over 16 months and is the reigning South African Open champion.

Jayden Trey Schaper: His most recent three starts at St Francis have all yielded top-10 finishes. He tied-seventh in Kenya on Sunday, having posted T20s in Singapore and Thailand before that. Is one of South Africa's best young golfers.

Ockie Strydom: Currently a career-high No 145 in the world and, only last month, won the Singapore Classic, which was his second DP World Tour title of the season. Finished second in the Vodacom event played at St Francis Links during 2022.

Sami Valimaki: Runner-up in last month's Singapore Classic, the 24-year-old Finn is chasing a second career title on the DP World Tour. His best finish on South African soil is runner-up at last November's Joburg Open.

Betfair Sportsbook Odds for South Africa

Latest betting for this year's Masters Tournament

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

Course Form Table refers to Sunshine Tour T12s:
South African PGA Ch'ship: 22.2, 21;
Vodacom 22.1, 15-18.