The 2024 Nedbank Golf Challenge starts on Thursday at Sun City with players taking on the Gary Player Country Club. We take a look at the field and pick 4 players to take on the bookmakers.
It is great to see the Nedbank Challenge back to an early December start which with schools winding down for the year will make it more accessible to the South African public. It also brings back great memories of the limited field event that we were treated to over the years starting way back in 1981 with the Johnny Miller victory.
The Tournament remains part of the DP World Tour so we have a full field taking to the first tee and aside from handling the thick Sun City rough, the heat will also be a factor this week.
THE COURSE
The Gary Player Country Club plays to a par 72 and while on the face of it extremely long at 7,819 yards, it is played at altitude where the ball travels a fair bit further. The fairways are not that difficult to find, but if you are spraying the ball it is unlikely that you are going to be in contention as the kikuyu rough is very difficult to play out of and for those tee shots going further astray, there is thick bush that makes finding your ball virtually impossible and potentially dangerous given the wild life in the area.
MARKET LEADERS
Canadian, Corey Conners tops the betting board at 10/1 ahead of defending Champion, Max Homa. Top South African in the betting is Christiaan Bezuidenhout currently priced at 14/1.
None of the top 3 in the betting boards have had a lot of golf lately and I am looking to take them on particularly defending Champion, Max Homa who has been in poor form for most of the year.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Corey Conners 10/1
Max Homa 14/1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 14/1
Thorbjorn Olesen 16/1
Will Zalatoris 16/1
Thriston Lawrence 16/1
Tom Mckibbin 20/1
22/1 and better the balance, prices correct at the time of posting but subject to change
SELECTIONS
Nicolai Højgaard each way at 22/1
Højgaard has been in solid form of late and has 4 consecutive Top 20 finishes. He struggled to adapt to the Sun City course on his first two visits, but last year was runner-up suggesting that he has got the hang of it.
Sebastian Soderberg each way at 33/1
Soderberg’s recent form hasn’t been great and he hasn’t finished inside the Top 25 in his last 6 starts. He is a player who really likes Sun City and the Gary Player Country Club as evident by a 5th place finish in 2022 and a 6th place finish last year. I am hoping that a return to a course where he has great memories will spark him into life.
Thriston Lawrence each way at 16/1
After looking at players further down the betting boards I find myself coming back to the top, to South African, Thriston Lawrence. Lawrence has been in reasonably good form and should be less rusty than some of the other players at the top of the betting boards. His course form doesn’t jump off the page, but he was 13th in 2022 and 24th last year and to me he is a far better player in 2024.
Elvis Smylie each way at 75/1
Smylie makes his debut on the course, but I think the bookmakers are under-estimating him here after some brilliant weeks at home in Australia. He won the Australian PGA in his penultimate start and last week finished 5th in the Australian Open.
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