The European Tour has travelled 4,970km to South Africa for the tenth event in The 2015 Race To Dubai, the Joburg Open. To help you select the strongest
Fantasy Race To Dubai
team possible, we’ve selected five players our stats gurus believe are primed to do well this week.
George Coetzee
Perhaps the favourite coming into this week, the defending champion has made a habit of playing well at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC. The 28 year old picked up his first European Tour win here last season and has a scoring average of 68.05 in 20 career rounds. His win last year saw him punch a ticket to The Open Championship at Hoylake, where he went on to finish tied 17th. With finishes of seventh, 14th, third and first in his last four starts at this event, he is likely to be in contention come Sunday.
Thomas Aiken
It’s no surprise that two South Africans lead our picks this week. In the 62 events co-sanctioned between The European and Sunshine Tours, South Africans have won 38 of them. One local who could do well this week is Thomas Aiken. Along with Coetzee, he is the only player to finish in the top six here the past two seasons. The 31 year old led The European Tour in Greens in Regulation in 2014 (with 76.3 per cent), and has finished inside the top 25 in each of last five European Tour starts in South Africa, including a win (2014 Africa Open) and two other top fives. With two top tens already this season, the three-time European Tour champion and eight-time Sunshine Tour winner will be keen to add the Joburg Open trophy to his growing collection.
Alex Noren
Don’t call it a comeback! Having missed almost all of 2014 with a wrist injury, Noren has quickly resumed his role as regular European Tour contender. He’s finished ninth, second and 11th in his last three starts and has the lowest European Tour stroke average this season of anyone in the field (68.8). In his only start at the Joburg Open in 2011, the Swede finished in a tie for 13th.
Byeong-hun An
Few players (not named Anirban Lahiri) have started their rookie European Tour season as well as Byeong-hun An. The South Korean is currently in the top ten on The European Tour in Stroke Average and Greens in Regulation, and has finished in the top 25 in each of his four starts this season, including a top five at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Last season he was 11th going into the final round here after rounds of 69, 68, 68, but a tough final round of 78 saw his bid for a first European Tour win fall short. The son of two Olympic medalists will be hoping for silverware of his own this time around.
Gregory Bourdy
Already this season, Bourdy is showing why he is considered one of the most consistent performers on The European Tour. He arrives in South Africa on the back three top 15 finishes, including fifth place in both Qatar and Malaysia. He finished 16th at this event last year, and has never shot higher than 70 in six career rounds at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC. In his last four starts in South Africa, the Frenchman has finished in the top 30 each time, including a runner-up finish at the 2013 Africa Open. No doubt he’ll be looking to emulate fellow countrymen Alexander Levy, Gary Stal and Victor Dubuisson and pick up his fifth European Tour win this week.
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