Joburg Open Odds and Picks

The Joburg Open returns to the European Tour this year for the first time since 2017 and it is Christiaan Bezuidenhout listed as the favorite at odds of 12-1. The European Tour has been holding regular events each week over the past few months, but they still have not attracted many top players, as very few players want to travel back and forth from the United States. This will be the first of three straight events in South Africa before the European Tour wraps up the season with the DP World Championship in Dubai. Let’s look at Joburg Open Odds and picks.

Course: Randpark Golf Club

This event was not held in either of the last two years, but it is returning in 2020 and will be played at Randpark Golf Club.

Defending Champion: Shubhankar Sharma (2017)

TV Coverage: Golf Channel

Joburg Open Odds

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 12-1

Adrian Otaegui 18-1

Adri Arnaus 18-1

Joost Luiten 20-1

Daniel van Tonder 20-1

Marcus Armitage 22-1

Brandon Stone 25-1

Matthew Jordan 25-1

Gavin Green 25-1

Shaun Norris 25-1

Garrick Higgo 25-1

Johannes Veerman 28-1

Dean Burmester 30-1

Shubankar Sharma 30-1

Wilco Nienaber 30-1

MJ Daffue 35-1

Wil Besseling 40-1

Louis De Jager 40-1

Fabrizio Zanotti 40-1

Richard Sterne 40-1

Jaco Ahlers 45-1

Antoine Rozner 40-1

Sean Crocker 40-1

Scott Jamieson 45-1

Masahiro Kawamura 45-1

Darren Fichardt 50-1

Alexander Levy 55-1

Richard Bland 65-1

Steven Brown 65-1

Adrien Saddier 65-1

Bryce Easton 70-1

Martin Rohwer 90-1

Adrian Meronk 90-1

Matthieu Pavon 90-1

Jacques Blaauw 90-1

JC Ritchie 90-1

Jonathan Caldwell 90-1

Jayden Trey Schaper 90-1

All other players are listed at odds of 100-1 or more or they are part of the field.

Favorite

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 12-1

You should know by now that I rarely take favorites and I am not backing Bezuidenhout this week. I am going to be backing almost all local players this week, as South African players have done well in this event in the past, but I don’t like the fact that Bezuidenhout is coming back from the U.S. having played in last week’s Masters. That fact alone has me looking elsewhere, plus the fact that he is the favorite.

Value Plays

Marcus Armitage 22-1

The only player who I am looking at who is not a South African player is Armitage. He has been playing well of late and I think he is one of the top players in the field. He is coming off a top 15 finish at Aphrodite Hills Golf Club earlier this month.

Garrick Higgo 25-1

The future looks to be bright for Higgo is turned pro just last year and has already won on the European Tour. He won the Open de Portugal at Royal Obidos in only his seventh start and I don’t think he will feel too much pressure this week playing at home. I think he has some value at this number.

Shaun Norris 25-1

Another South African player I am looking at is Norris. He actually played this event the last time it was held in 2017 and he played well, finishing third. I would have preferred higher odds, but the field is really weak and Norris has a chance to contend.

Wilco Nienaber 30-1

There is a lot to like about Nienaber’s game and he is another South African player to watch this week. He is just 20-years old and already is considered a rising star. He hits the ball a ton and he looks like a player who could contend on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour. I think he can win this week and we get 30-1.

Richard Sterne 40-1

I wanted to take a least one longshot this week and Sterne fits the bill. We know he can win, as he has won six times on the European Tour and four of those wins were in his home country of South Africa. He has not played a ton this year, but he did look good Dimension Data Pro-Am. Normally I would not take him, but this field is so poor that Sterne could contend and we get 40-1.

Check out the latest Joburg Open odds at top online sportsbooks.