26th Feb 2014 | Tshwane Open
Tshwane Open Trends
We examine the leaderboard at last year's Tshwane Open for pointers in this year’s tournament.
The European Tour ends its sojourn in South Africa with the Tshwane Open starting on Thursday.
In only its second year on tour, it’s impossible to build any trends so instead we have focused on the top-5 finishers at Copperleaf twelve months ago.
South African golfers dominate the field therefore we have used statistics from the Sunshine Tour for our analysis.
Stroke Average under 72.00
In recent weeks we have seen the cream rise to the top in South Africa, even in moderate fields the best players still thrive. Last year’s top-4 all averaged less than 72 shots per round on the Sunshine Tour.
Top-60 on tour for GIRs
In low scoring contests it’s crucial to give yourself plenty of opportunities to get into the red. The three lowest scorers last year all ranked inside the top-60 on tour for GIRs.
Top-60 on tour in putts per GIR
Once you’ve hit your GIRs you need to convert opportunities and last year’s top-4 all ranked in the top-60 for this metric.
Top-60 on tour for birdie average
Dawie Van Der Walt’s winning score last year was 21-under par; quite simply you have to make birdies to win.
Players that fit all four trends:
Darren Fichardt 22/1 Betfred
Hennie Otto 30/1 Skybet
Dawie Van Der Walt 40/1 Betfred
Justin Walters 50/1 Betfred
Adilson Da Silva 80/1 Coral
Jbe Kruger 80/1 Stan James
Trevor Fisher Jr 100/1 Bet365
Louis De Jager 125/1 Paddy Power
T van der Walt 150/1 Coral
Oliver Bekker 150/1 Paddy Power
James Kingston 200/1 Stan James
Jaco Ahlers 200/1 Coral
Michael Hollick 250/1 Stan James
Justin Harding 250/1 Sportingbet
Jacques Blaauw 300/1 Sportingbet
Jake Roos 400/1 Bet365
Dean Burmester 400/1 Bet365
Desvonde Botes 500/1 Stan James
Martin du Toit 750/1 Stan James
Odds correct at time of publishing: 11:00 26th Feb, 2014 but subject to change
