Alfred Dunhill Championship 2024 FRL Tips: Four to keep an eye on

The Alfred Dunhill Championship begins tomorrow at Leopard Creek Country Club.

With everyone eager to get their hands on a trophy before the year is out, I’ve had a look at who can make a fast start towards achieving that in the penultimate event of the DP World Tour season.

Conditions are forecast to be bright and hot throughout the first round, with temperatures reaching a potentially uncomfortable 40C in the afternoon. Whilst the wind isn't scheduled to be too severe, it does get a touch stronger for the afternoon starters, at which time we could see gusts approaching 20mph.  

Those high temperatures and gustier winds in the afternoon lead me to favour the earlier starters in the first-round leader market tomorrow. This is a tactic that would've proven fruitful in recent renewals, with four of the last five players to hold the first-round lead here also teeing off early. 

1 pt Angel Ayora @ 55/1 - each-way (1/4 - 5 places)

Start time: 07:20 

First up is Spanish rookie, Angel Ayora. The 20-year-old made an excellent start to his DP World Tour career in the Australian double-header and not shy of taking a first-round lead on the Challenge Tour this year, he looks a lively contender from his early tee time. 

Ayora turned pro at the end of 2023 after reaching the top 80 in the amateur rankings, which is all the more impressive considering he only spent two years at that level. His exciting potential has been evident throughout his first full season as a pro on the Challenge Tour, recording 12 top-25 finishes but he's been at his best towards the end of the year, hitting the top 4 in five of his last eight starts, including claiming a first professional win in the Rosa Challenge. These results took him to 4th on the Challenge Tour's Order of Merit and earned him an instant upgrade to the DPWT for this season. 

He's looked right at home at this heightened level, finishing 6th in the Australian PGA Championship and 23rd in the Australian Open. Appearing a player with little in the way of weaknesses, he should become a real force on this tour over the coming years. 

Ayora hasn't started especially quickly in those first two events of the new DPWT season, but he was in good first-round form in his last couple of starts on the Challenge Tour. He opened with a 65 to sit 4th after round one of the Hangzhou Open and then fired a 62 to take the first-round lead in the Challenge Tour Grand Final on his next start.

0.75 pts Yurav Premlall @ 70/1 - each-way (1/4 - 5 places)

Start time: 06:20 

I've tipped up Yurav Premlall to make some noise near the top of the leaderboard this week and from this advantageous early tee time, he can do so from the get-go at Leopard Creek. 

The young South African has had an excellent 2024 campaign and comes into this having not missed a cut in his last 19 starts, including winning a first pro title on the Sunshine Tour in the Vodacom Origins – Sishen. 

With such a good run of results under his belt, it's no surprise that he's been getting off to some positive starts and he ranks 28th in this field in round one performances over the last six months.  

Premlall has missed both cuts in this event but was only one short last year and arrives as a much improved player this time around. He's also gone well here in the amateur ranks, twice finishing inside the top 10 in the African Amateur Stoke Play Championship, including a runner-up finish at the course in 2022. With his newfound level of form and early start, I expect him to fly out of the blocks on Thursday. 

0.5 pts Joakim Lagergren @ 100/1 - each-way (1/4 - 5 places)

Start time: 07:30 

Joakim Lagergren dropped down to the Challenge Tour for the first time in 10 years this year but earned an instant return to the DPWT due to a strong season at that lower level. He'll be itching to get going this week and as a player not shy of taking a first-round lead in South Africa, he looks good value in this market. 

Lagergren found a hot period of form around July/August, recording two victories and a runner-up finish across the space of four starts. This took him to 8th on the Road to Mallorca standings and comfortably inside that top 20 (and ties) threshold for a DPWT card.  

He had lost a little form following that, though he was solid enough in the Challenge Tour Grand Final when we last saw him, finishing 18th in that 46-man field. He's had a month-and-a-half off since that and should be fresh and raring to go this week. 

The Swede hasn't played here a great deal and missed his first two cuts in the event, but it's a major positive that he recorded his best finish at Leopard Creek last year, finishing 39th.  

Lagergren started that week with a 4-under 68 to sit 10th after the opening round, a week after he'd taken the first-round lead in the South African Open and he is someone who has made a habit of winning in this market. Something that was again on show earlier this year, as he recorded back-to-back first-round leads in the Irish and Northern Irish Opens. 

0.5 pts Oliver Bekker @ 100/1 - each-way (1/4 - 5 places)

Start time: 07:30 

Oliver Bekker had been on a dreadful run of form before returning to South Africa in recent weeks. This has brought about an upturn in form and as a player who has held the first-round lead at Leopard Creek before, I'm hoping he can carry those latest improvements into Thursday's opening round. 

He actually made a decent start to this season, but completely fell away in the second half and entering the Vodacom Origins Golf Final two starts ago he'd missed nine of his previous 10 cuts. He finished 13th there – after opening with a 62 to take the first-round lead – and maintained that positivity on his next start, finishing 5th in the South African PGA Championship. 

Bekker has played here 13 times and has a good record, recording two top 10s and missing just five cuts, with his best finish coming when 4th in 2022. He scored the first-round lead in 2018 in his only other top-10 finish, opening with a 6-under 66 and with many other sub-70 rounds to his name, he's as clued up as most as to how to score well around here. 

You can access all our latest Golf Odds over on Betfred.com

You can find all Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips over on our dedicated Golf Insights hub