With Jamie Worsley providing his eagerly-anticipated weekly preview and picks on Tuesday, for the Jonsson Workwear Open, we have taken an early look at the tournament and the leading contenders in the market.
After last week’s SDC Championship at St. Francis Links, the DP World Tour stays in South Africa for the Jonsson Workwear Open – a co-sanctioned event with the Sunshine Tour having been a joint venture with the Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour last year in the inaugural edition.
Having been held in Durban in 2022, the action will be at The Club at Steyn City in Eastern Cape, the same venue in which the 2022 Steyn City Championship was played at – a tournament home favourite Shaun Norris won by three strokes from fellow South African Dean Burmester.
J.C. Ritchie won the inaugural Jonsson Workwear Open last year by a massive six strokes and he is 90/1 to follow that up this week, although he did miss the cut at the 2022 Steyn City Championship.
The Club at Steyn City course details
The Championship course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is a par-72 that Thomas Abt, commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, described as South Africa’s answer to Augusta. Measuring 7,716 yards, there are four par-fives, 10 par-fours and four par-threes to go at.
Generous fairways make this more of a test of approach play and short-game skills, with no less than 75 bunkers and several water features making life tough.
Jonsson Workwear Open 2023 Odds – Market Leaders
All prices 1/4 odds 5 places
Jordan Smith – 18/1
Top of the betting is Englishman Jordan Smith, who was T23 at last week’s SDC Championship and ended up in a share of 16th at Steyn City 12 months ago.
He won his second DP World Tour title in October last year at the Portugal Masters, finishing three shots ahead of Gavin Green, and the 30-year-old ranks 20th in greens in regulation this season.
Smith has not recorded a top 10 since that victory in Portugal but he will be hoping to be in the mix come Sunday.
Adri Arnaus – 20/1
Big-hitting Spaniard Adri Arnaus should benefit from the generous fairways and he arrives off the back of a runners-up finish at the SDC Championship.
The 28-year-old, who broke his DP World Tour duck at the Catalunya Championship in May last year, is making his course debut at Steyn City and could be one to watch out for if the putter is hot.
Joost Luiten – 22/1
Talented Dutchman Joost Luiten is enjoying an injury-free run after a tough couple of years and he was T9 last week, following on from back-to-back third-place finishes at the Thailand Classic and Hero Indian Open.
He was 10th at Steyn City last year and the 37-year-old will be hoping to challenge for a seventh DP World Tour title, the most recent of which came at the 2018 Oman Open.
Julien Brun – 28/1
Up-and-coming Frenchman Julien Brun is really starting to find his feet on the DP World Tour and his best finish so far in 2023 came at the Dubai Desert Classic, where he was fifth.
The 30-year-old ranks 16th in strokes gained: approach-the-green and he will be eager for a better showing at Steyn City, a course he missed the cut at last year.
Niklas Norgaard Moller – 30/1
Denmark’s latest talent Nicklas Norgaard Moller is one of the biggest hitters on Tour, ranking 10th in driving distance, and that extra power could help him around this course.
The 30-year-old was 21st at the Steyn City Championship and, if he can sharpen up his putting this week, there is every chance he could challenge for a maiden DP World Tour title.
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