World number 30 Branden Grace will start the BMW SA Open at Glendower as the player to beat after being installed as the bookmakers’ favourite.
Bet.co.za have Grace narrowly ahead of 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel to triumph this week in an event where neither player has won before. Schwartzel was famously defeated in a playoff in the 2014-15 season by England’s Andy Sullivan.
Grace is listed 6.75/1 to win with Schwartzel next best at 7.50.
Grace, who was flawless in the final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, will be determined to start the season well on home soil as the crowd hope for a local winner as Graeme Storm edged Rory McIlroy in a playoff last year. The event has not been kind to South Africans with just three wins in the last eight years with Brandon Stone the most recent winner in 2016.
Dylan Frittelli, winner of last year’s Lyoness Open and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, is third favourite at 19/1 with fellow T4 finisher at the Race to Dubai’s season ending DP World Tour Championship, Dean Burmester, in at 28/1.
Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen is the number one ranked foreign player at 29/1 with England’s Jordan Smith closely behind at 31/1.
The event will be hosted by Ernie Els – 179/1 – and will feature three Masters winners in Schwartzel, Trevor Immelman (609/1) and Mike Weir (489/1).
