Nedbank Golf Challenge Odds
Second after round one and third at halfway last year, Levy looked all set to make a big splash on his Nedbank Challenge debut last year. A 76-78 weekend put paid to that and gave him only T21. The fire-at-the-flags Frenchman did the opposite in Turkey last week, starting slowly but shooting 67-65 over the final 36 holes to post T25. Find the best Nedbank-Golf-Challenge Odds - Compare dropping and betting odds changes for Nedbank-Golf-Challenge, live Golf matches updates from over 80 worldwide bookmakers & bookies offers, matches will be held in International. Check the latest Nedbank Challenge golf odds from the best bookmakers. Read our preview with betting tips plus claim bookmaker free bets. Nedbank Challenge Golf Odds – Outright Winner Betting Nedbank Challenge Betting 2017; best odds bold; Each-Way Place Terms: 1/4 odds 1,2,3. Nedbank Golf Challenge 1st Round betting. Choose Pinnacle for the best Nedbank Golf Challenge 1st Round odds and highest limits for Nedbank Golf Challenge 1st Round betting online.
After originating as nothing more than a small-field invitational, the Nedbank Golf Challenge has grown to become one of the most significant tournaments on the European Tour.
Last year’s event featured a tournament record 72 players, more than double the number of golfers that participated in the 2015 tournament. It’s also the second-last tournament of the Race to Dubai, providing plenty of motivation for players looking to make up ground late in that competition.
This year’s tournament has the potential to go down as the best ever, given the quality of players in the field. Four former major winners will tee it up at the Gary Player Country Club (Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel), and Oosthuizen is the only player of that bunch listed among the top 10 favorites to win the tournament.
Top 10 Favorites To Win The Nedbank Golf Challenge
There’s no clear-cut favorite to win the Nedbank, as the odds at Bovada suggest.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Tyrrell Hatton (+1400) was a slight favorite over Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen (+1600 each), while Matthew Fitzpatrick, Ross Fisher, Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari lingered close behind at +1800. 5 other golfers paid +3000 or less, and 26 players in total pay +5000 or lower.
Here’s a look at the odds for the top 10 favorites, according to Bovada.
- Tyrrell Hatton: +1400
- Branden Grace: +1600
- Louis Oosthuizen: +1600
- Matthew Fitzpatrick: +1800
- Ross Fisher: +1800
- Tommy Fleetwood: +1800
- Francesco Molinari: +1800
- Alexander Noren: +2200
- Rafael Cabrera Bello: +2200
- Shane Lowry: +2200
I should also note that, just like many golf tournaments and other events in sports, the odds vary by the betting site you visit. BetOnline, for example, lists Hatton at the same +1400 odds but makes Grace, Fisher, Fitzpatrick and Molinari all +1600.
It’s just a friendly reminder to always compare odds at a few different online sportsbooks to make sure you’re getting the best odds – especially when betting golf tournament winners that can result in a couple extra hundred dollars on a $100 bet.
Let’s take a closer look at the top 3 favorites on Bovada’s Nedbank Golf Challenge betting odds.
1. Tyrrell Hatton (+1400)
After opening the 2017 PGA Tour season with a pair of fourth-place finishes in his first 4 outings, Hatton didn’t have much luck playing in North America, finishing out of the Top 25 in his final 7 tournaments and missing the cut 4 times.
But the Englishman has been absolutely carving up the European tour since returning from across the pond a few months ago. He was third at the Omega European Masters, eighth at the British Masters, and then won both the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Italian Open. He also finished 11th at the World Golf Championships in late October and followed that up with a 16th-place performance at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Hatton’s got the raw ability to win anytime he tees it up, but the 25-year-old’s emotional style puts him at risk to unravel a bit if things don’t go his way. If he gets off to a strong start at the Nedbank, he’ll have a strong chance to seal the deal.
2. Branden Grace (+1600)
As 1 of 9 South Africans in the field, Grace has a strong familiarity with the Gary Player Country Club that could give him an advantage. This year’s tournament will mark the fourth time that the 29-year-old has played the course, and he’ll also have confidence from finishing in the top 20 in 3 of his last 4 appearances at the Nedbank.
Nedbank Golf Challenge 2019 Odds
That’s the biggest reason to take the short price with Grace here, because he’s cracked the top 6 just once in his last 26 tournaments dating back to the start of the 2017 season. That one sixth-place finish was a big one, though, as he placed sixth at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale this past July to take home $281,000.
Don’t discount the motivation of representing your home country, either. “It’s the tournament we all grew up watching and wanting to play,” Grace said of himself and his fellow countrymen. “I think there will be a big push from the South African boys this week.”
3. Louis Oosthuizen (+1600)
Oosthuizen is another South African who can benefit from the “home field advantage” effect of playing in front of supportive crowds, and he’s in much better current form than Grace. Oosthuizen placed second at both The Players Championship and The PGA Championship this past season, and he made the cut in 16 of the 18 tournaments he entered in 2017.
Though Oosthuizen has developed a bit of a close-but-no-cigar reputation on the PGA Tour (he’s got 1 career victory), he’s thrived in international competition where he has won 12 tournament titles.
Sleepers To Watch
1. Alexander Noren (+2200)
+2200 odds is a pretty nice takeback for the defending champion of the event, as Noren is after overcoming a 6-stroke deficit going into the final round to win the Nedbank a year ago.
After struggling for years, the 35-year-old Swede has enjoyed a breakthrough over the past 15 months. Noren didn’t finish higher than 45 in any PGA Tour events from 2015-16, but in 2017 he tied for sixth at The Open Championship, tied for fifth in match play at The World Golf Championships and also cracked the Top 10 at The Players Championship. That’s in addition to European Tour victories at the BMW PGA Championship, Scottish Open, European Masters and British Masters in the past couple of years.
“Lifting the trophy in South Africa last year was the perfect ending to a memorable season,” Noren said a month ago. “I’m really looking forward to returning as defending champion.”
2. Tommy Fleetwood (+1800)
Fleetwood’s game sets up very well for this golf course because he is the far and away leader on the European Tour when it comes to greens hit in regulation. That usually does a player a lot of good at the Gary Player Country Club, considering that 3 of the last 4 champions of the event also led the tournament in greens hit.
He’s already won twice on the European Tour in 2017 (the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the HNA Open de France), and he was fourth at last year’s U.S. Open.
Jeung-Hun Wang (+8000)
If you’re looking for a chance at a huge price, Wang certainly seems worth a look because of his performance last year at the Nedbank. The South Korean led the tournament going into the final round after carding a brilliant 64 in Saturday’s action, only to shoot a 75 the following day and lose to Noren by 6 strokes.
It’s a bit of a concern how Wang might react mentally to returning to the scene where he collapsed down the stretch the previous year, but the way he’s rebounded this season (a win at the Qatar Masters and a final-round 65 at last weekend’s Turkish Airlines Open) makes you think he’s put it behind him.
Nedbank Golf Challenge History, Trends And Keys To Victory
There actually hasn’t been too much drama lately in the final holes at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Each of the past 3 champions won the tournament by 4 strokes or more, while Lee Westwood was an 8-stroke champion in 2010 and Henrik Stenson enjoyed a 9-shot bulge over his nearest competition in 2008. There has been just 1 playoff at the Nedbank since 2005, and the tournament hasn’t been decided by 1 stroke since 2009.
Champions at the Nedbank tend to score well. Only 1 player (Martin Kaymer in 2012) has won the tournament without being at least 11-under-par since 2006. Stenson was 21-under-par in 2008, and the trio of Marc Leishman, Danny Willett and Thomas Bjorn averaged a winning score of -19 from 2013-15.
It’s also worth noting that no South African has won the tournament in the past 10 years. Gary Player himself has acknowledged the pressure that comes with trying to win a significant tournament in front of your countrymen, suggesting that South African golfers need to “almost brainwash themselves into believing they can win.”
Player also believes that putting is the key to winning at the golf course named after him, and downplayed the significance of hitting the ball long.
Nedbank Golf Challenge Odds
Nedbank Golf Challenge Betting Prediction
I know South Africans haven’t fared well at this event recently, but there’s something telling to me about the fact that Grace is one of the top favorites to win this tournament despite not having scored that well lately.
Familiarity with the course is always an advantage, Grace has a history of being in contention at the Nedbank, and he’s shown by his performance at The Open Championship that he’s not fazed by pressure. Grace is also a solid 4th in driving accuracy and 23rd in greens in regulation so far on the young PGA Tour season, suggesting that he’s hitting the ball better than his scoring average suggests.