Genworth Stats Pack - Africa Open Preview

Thomas Aiken has performed very well in this event in each of its three previous stagings and is a bit of a course specialist. In both 2011 and 2012 he finished tied for 14th, but his best result came in 2010 when he finished runner up to Charl Schwartzel. Thomas has started the year slightly slower than expected but arrives in good form off the back of a 6th place finish last week in Joburg (where he ranked 6th for Greens in Reg with 81.9%).

Trevor Fisher Jnr pushed Richard Sterne hard for the first three rounds at the Joburg Open last week, but he unfortunately slipped down to 6th at the finish. He arrives with a previous record at this event of missed cut in 2012, tied for 26th in 2011 and tied for 4th in 2010 (so not bad all in all). Trevor’s Genworth Statistics are slightly distorted due to early season scheduling, having played just four rounds prior to last week in Joburg.

Tommy Fleetwood is settling down to some good golf now the season is under way. He arrives this week off the back of a 10th place finish in Dubai and a 14th place finish in Joburg. Looking at his Genworth Statistics his long game seems to be in great shape (ranking 26th for Driving Distance and 32nd for Greens in Regulation). If he can get the putter working a little better he is likely to go well over the East London links.

Lorenzo Gagli has played the Africa Open on two previous occasions, in 2011 (tied for 38th) and 2010 (cut). He arrives in solid form having finished in the money in his first six events of the 2013 season. His Genworth Statistics highlight a sub 70 Stroke Average and some excellent short game statistics, which may be needed if the wind blows. This will be the 5th week of competing in a row for Lorenzo, so a well-earned week off is just around the corner.

Jbe Kruger has a great record in the Africa Open. Although he missed the cut last year, in 2011 he tied for 8th and in 2010 he finished 3rd. This season he is making cuts without really firing on all cylinders. His Genworth Statistics show that his short game is in great shape but a little more consistency with the long game will help his scoring the most. If he drives the ball better this week it should produce the desired knock-on effect through his game.

Joost Luiten has competed in the Africa Open once before, in 2010 when he finished tied for 28th. He is lightly raced so far this season, having played only Abu Dhabi (tied for 6th) and Dubai (cut), where he picked up a bit of a shoulder injury. After a week of shoulder therapy and rest he seems ready to play again, although his preparation for this event is somewhat unknown. We look on with interest to see how he performs through the week.

Garth Mulroy ranks 18th on the Race to Dubai coming into the Africa Open, where he tied for 34th last year. He is yet to miss the cut from his first six starts on the European Tour this season and he arrives off the back of a 9th place finish in Joburg. His Genworth Statistics show that his long game is performing well but he is excelling on the greens. He ranks 9th for Putts per GIR, 35th for Putts per Round and 5th for 1 Putts per Round.

Robert Rock has played the Africa Open once before (in 2011 when he finished tied for 51st). Aside from a top ten finish in Dubai a few weeks ago, his Genworth Statistics show that he is not yet in full flow this season. His Stroke Average is 71.00 (rank 74th), his Driving Accuracy is 57.7% (rank 71st), his Greens in Reg is 69.4% (rank 84th) and his Putts per Round is 29.6 (rank 92nd). Robert may just need something little to spark him into action this week.

Ricardo Santos may well push on to another level this year. The 2012 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year is in a rich vein of form off the back of three top ten finishes in the last four weeks (including a tied third in Joburg last week where he ranked 2nd for Greens in Reg with 88.9%). Ricardo currently ranks 9th for the Genworth Stroke Average ranking, 22nd for Greens in Reg and 28th for Putts per GIR. We look for him to go well once again this week.

Andy Sullivan is off to a great start in 2013 with two early season top ten finishes. The 26 year old golfer from Nuneaton in England seems to be settling into life on the European Tour and he looks to be a good prospect. His Genworth Statistics show no real weaknesses. He drives the ball straight, hits lots of greens and putts well. Andy missed the cut in this event last year (his only time of playing) but we look for a much better result this time round.

Tjaart Van Der Walt has improved each time he has played this event over the past three years. In 2012 he finished tied for 43rd, in 2011 he finished tied for 26th and last year he finished runner up to Louis Oosthuizen (with a score of 25 under par). That week he ranked 2nd for Driving Accuracy (an area of the game he excels in), 10th for Greens in Reg and 4th for Putts per GIR. Can he keep the trend going this week and finish one better.

Jaco Van Zyl is an East London course specialist. In 2010 he finished tied for 28th but in both 2011 and 2012 he finished 4th. Looking at those performances, in 2011 he ranked 2nd for Driving Accuracy (with 90.0% of fairways hit) and in 2012 he converted 2 eagles and 24 birdies (for a score of 23 under par). His early season Genworth Statistics are good in most areas, and the shorter than average East London course may help his Greens in Reg.