Alfred Dunhill Championship: Otaegui Can Land the ‘W’

• This is the penultimate event of the pre-Christmas DP World Tour schedule 
• Host course Leopard Creek is a par 72 measuring 7,249 yards
• South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout won the last edition in 2020

Alfred Dunhill Championship Odds

The odds for this tournament are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to Caesars Sportsbook and place a bet.

Alfred Dunhill Championship Our Picks

• Adrian Otaegui was a superb winner at Valderrama in October and has some solid form in South Africa too. Back the Spaniard to take victory at +3500 with Caesars Sportsbook.

• Joost Luiten has two top fives at Leopard Creek and it’s one of his favorite courses. Take him to beat Edoardo Mollinari in a 72-hole match bet at -120 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

• Alejandro Canizares is riding a hot putter and boasts a nice mix of current and course form. Back the Spaniard for a Top 20 at +360 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

While the PGA Tour winds down with a pairs event (the QBE Shootout), the DP World Tour continues its relentless run of full-field tournaments by returning to a familiar spot on the schedule - Leopard Creek in South Africa.

This popular event is essential viewing (TV schedule below) for golf nerds and wildlife fans alike.

Leopard Creek - the clue is in the name - is set on the edge of Kruger National Park and at various points the on-site cameras will pick out crocodiles, deer, zebra, impala, leopard and even the odd hippopotamus loping around.

The course opened in 1996 and is a Gary Player design.

The par 72 which measures 7,249 yards works its way through trees, bushes and grassland and has bermuda fairways and Champion Bermuda bentgrass greens.

Looking at the last 16 winners, 10 were home South African players while Spaniards lifted the trophy on four occasions in that run.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout won the last edition to be held in 2020 (the 2021 event was canceled due to the pandemic) and he’s the betting favorite at +900.

This used to be a real birdie fest with Charl Schwarztel winning with 24-under in 2012.

It was toughened up ahead of the 2018 event and winning scores since then read: 14-under, 8-under and 14-under so it’s no longer the pushover of old.

Putting remains a key stat and Bezuidenhout ranked 2nd for Strokes Gained: Putting when winning last time.      

Otaegui Can Land the ‘W’

The recipe for selecting the winner here used to be simple: pick a home South African with an extra touch of class. 

Schwartzel won three times in four years from 2012-2015 but since the course changes the leaderboard has had a more international flavor.

Spaniards always seem to like it here and the one that looks the best play in the outright market is Adrian Otaegui.

Otaegui has done much better on the toughened Leopard Creek layout, finishing tied 20th in 2020 and tied 33rd in 2019 having previously missed all four cuts in the birdie-fest days.

The 30-year-old is full of confidence after winning the Andalucia Masters at famed Valderrama in mid-October. 

That form looks interesting as Bezuidenhout has won at Valderrama too and there seems to be plenty of correlating form between the Spanish track and this one. 

Since winning in Spain, Otaegui has kept the engine running nicely and picked up top 25s in two recent South African events - 18th last month’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and 23rd in last week’s South African Open.

His approach play was on point last week, as was his short game.

Back Otaegui to claim his fifth DP World Tour win at an attractive +3500 with Caesars Sportsbook. 

Luiten to Outscore Molinari

Last week’s 72-hole match bet was a frustrating one. Min Woo Lee played some excellent golf to land in third place but his rival Adam Scott went one better to finish runner-up.

This week I’m going to play two Europeans and go with Joost Luiten to see off Edoardo Molinari.

On his own website, Luiten said last week’s test at Blair Atholl was “very long and frankly a bit boring”. Nevertheless, he still did well to finish tied 23rd and back up a recent top seven at the Portugal Masters.

But as for this week’s venue, Luiten can’t wait to get started and the Dutchman describes Leopard Creek as “one of my favorite courses”.

Looking at his record, Luiten owns two top fives in his four visits and has never finished worse than tied 35th.

Molinari did well at lengthy Blair Atholl last week to take tied ninth but he’s never really taken to Leopard Creek.

The Italian has missed five of his eight cuts, including three of the last four, and has just one finish better than 28th. 

Let’s back Luiten to thrive among the wildlife once more and win this match bet at -120 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Take Canizares for a Top 20 

Back to the idea that Spaniards do well here and I’m going to play Alejandro Canizares to bank a top 20 at +360.

The veteran has spent the last two weeks Down Under and it proved a profitable trip as he posted 12th at the Australian PGA Championship and backed it up with a fast-finishing fourth at the Australian Open.

He putted superbly in Australia, ranking in the top two for Strokes Gained: Putting in both tournaments.

The final piece of the jigsaw is that he’s got some useful Leopard Creek form.  

Canizares has played this event five times previously and in the last three he’s finished 23rd, 26th and 24th.

It won’t take much more to crack the top 20 and that’s +360 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Alfred Dunhill Championship Information

• Tournament - Alfred Dunhill Championship 

• Location - Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa

• Time - Thursday, December 08 - Sunday, December 11

• How to Watch - Thursday/Friday 1 am-10 am ET (Golf Channel), Saturday 5 am-1 pm, Sunday 5 pm-12.30 pm. All 4 days on Sky Sports