Nedbank Golf Challenge 2024 FRL Tips: Two to fly out of traps in South Africa

The Nedbank Golf Challenge begins in Dubai on Thursday and in addition to his outright tips, our resident Golf expert Jamie Worsley has taken a look at the First Round Leader market, where he likes two to start quickly.

Read on for his Nedbank Golf Challenge 2024 FRL Tips.

Nedbank Golf Challenge Odds

The Nedbank Golf Challenge begins in Sun City tomorrow and with some potentially strong winds on the cards, it could be a challenging first day at Gary Player Country Club.

The forecast for tomorrow is clear, with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures. An 8mph breeze to start the day shouldn’t worry the players too much, though it is forecast to rise throughout the day and there is predicted to be a constant 12mph breeze by the time the latest starters finish their rounds; accompanied by gusts of up to 28mph.

However, due to a compact group of tee times – with all 66 players teeing off between 09:21 and 11:11 – it’s unlikely we’ll see a significant draw bias emerge and I think we should be able to pick freely across the field.

1.75 pts Thomas Detry each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 25/1

Thomas Detry has a very strong record at Gary Player CC and whilst his lack of wins makes him a difficult player to back outright, he does make plenty of appeal in this market.

Detry has had another good year on the PGA Tour, finishing the regular season in 43^rd, which gets him into next year’s Signature Events. His highest finish came when 2^nd in the Houston Open and he also impressed in some of the biggest events of the year, finishing 4^th in the PGA Championship, 9^th at the Olympics and 14^th in the US Open.

He hasn’t pulled up any trees since returning to the DP World Tour. Although, he did produce his best performance in three months when 13^th in Abu Dhabi on his latest start.

Detry has played here on three occasions, finishing 7^th in 2018, 3^rd in 2019 and 13^th in 2022. He’s fired two 66s over those events – one of which came in the opening round in 2019 to finish 2^nd at the end of day one – and two 67s. This shows he has the ability to go low at Gary Player CC and off the back of that good performance at Yas Links, he has every chance of being among the leaders after 18 holes on Thursday.

1 pt Daniel Hillier each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 50/1

I’ve backed New Zealander, Daniel Hillier several times in recent months and he’s been somewhat of a frustrating follow, often threatening to challenge but not quite finding enough at the end. That being said, this also means that he’s been starting well and as one of the best ball-strikers in this field, he can make another fast start at Gary Player CC.

Hillier has been playing his most consistent golf of the season in this latter part of the year, missing just one cut in his last 12 starts. He’s recorded five top 25s in this time, including a 19^th-place finish in The Open and he was 23^rd in the Australian Open on his latest start.

There are few players here hitting the ball better than him currently, as he ranks 4^th off-the-tee and 6^th in approach in this field over his last 20 rounds. When combined with his ranking of 11^th in round one scoring over the last three months, he becomes a very attractive prospect in this market from a statistical point of view.

Hillier made his debut in this event last year, finishing a solid 33^rd and the course appeared to really suit his eye, as he ranked 3^rd for greens-in-regulation. He should be all the better for that experience and together with his recent round one form, I fancy him to challenge for the first-round lead tomorrow.

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