Alfred Dunhill Championship: golf betting guide

Our tipster analyses the field and comes up with some top tips ahead of the European Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship at South Africa's Leopard Creek Country Club

Scott Jamieson

The second event of the European Tour's 2013 season, the Alfred Dunhill Championship, gets underway this week at South Africa's beautiful Leopard Creek Country Club.

Last year, Garth Mulroy won by two strokes from Scotland's George Murray, but he'll face stiff competition this year from the likes of Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen.

After a relatively weak field at the season-starting Nelson Mandela Championship in Durban, some of tour's more recognised names will be taking part this week.

The tournament has been played at Leopard Creek, on the edge of Kruger National Park, since 2005, and with four reachable par 5s, last year's winning score of 19-under-par could be threatened.

Predictably, Schwartzel - who won last week in Thailand - and Oosthuizen are the overwhelming favourites at 3/1 and 6/1 respectively with Ladbrokes, but there just isn't value in their prices.

Jaco Van Zyl, at 25/1 with Labrokes, looks well priced this week. He is proficient on home soil, as he showed with three top 27-finishes - including a tie for fourth at the Africa Open - in South Africa last season. Van Zyl is also in good form, recording a top ten at last month's Barclays Singapore Open and an 8th place last week, where he shot eight-under-par in the final round.

Scott Jamieson, at 40/1 with Ladbrokes, is well worth backing. The Scot has been in a rich vain of form of late, which culminated in him winning his first European Tour title at the Nelson Mandela last week. He will be full of confidence, and will fancy his chances again this time around.

Steve Webster, at 66/1 with Ladbrokes, simply can't be ignored at such a high price. The Englishman found some form at last season's Dunhill Links Championship after a spell in the golfing wilderness, and looks poised for a successful 2013. He played some fine golf last week, narrowly missing out in a three-man play-off, and I wouldn't be surprised if he went one better at Leopard Creek.

Espen Kofstad, at 80/1 with Ladbrokes, is also well priced. The 2012 Challenge Tour number one put in a solid showing last week, and has shown a proficiency for South Africa in the past. The young Norweigan has a good all round game and is a sensible outside bet for the Dunhill. George Murray, at 150/1 with Labrokes, is the obvious each way selection this week. He narrowly missed out on retaining his European Tour Card at Q-School, but a tie for 29th suggests he is in decent form. What's more, he finished in ninth place at the 2012 Joburg Open and second at this tournament in 2011.

Alfred Dunhill Championship advised bets:

2pts each way on Jaco Van Zyl at 25/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Scott Jamieson at 40/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Steve Webster at 66/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on Espen Kofstad at 80/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts each way on George Murray at 150/1 with Ladbrokes  

Nick Bonfield
Content Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, commissioning and feature writing. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x