Fantasy Golf Predictions – 2016 Alfred Dunhill Championship

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the Alfred Dunhill Championship

The 2016 Alfred Dunhill Championship Fantasy Preview

Dunhill likes to confuse everyone and sponsor multiple events in quick succession on the European Tour, but this week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship does not compare to the late season links championship which boasts a prize pool of $5 million dollars.

This outing kicks off the European Tour’s 2017 regular season, following a fun week in which Denmark was able to claim the World Cup in Melbourne, Australia.  The Alfred Dunhill Championship presents chance for players to get a jump-start on their Race to Dubai numbers as they attempt to unseat 2016 Champion; Henrik Stenson.

This week’s tournament will be hosted by Leopard Creek Country Club in Malalane, South Africa.  The par-72, 7,287-yard course has been the site for this event since 2004 and has seen a majority of the Champions hail from the area as the tourney is also associated with the Sunshine Tour; South Africa’s premiere golf tour.

As mentioned above, it’s common place for a South African-born golfer to take home the trophy, and that has been the case in eight of the past 12 seasons; including the last five installments.  Last year’s victor, Charl Schwartzel, seems to be the clear favorite each time he tees it up here as his 2016 win was his fourth.  His first came back in 2005 when he took down Neil Cheetham during a playoff, but since then he has won each of his next three (2013, 2014, 2016) by at least four strokes with a score no worse than 15-under-par.  Just last year, Schwartzel separated himself by four strokes from runner-up Gregory Bourdy with Benjamin Hebert being the only other player to post a score in the double-digits under par.

Schwartzel will attempt to defend once again against a field that is littered with prominent South Africans, most notably being 2014 Champion Branden Grace.  Also likely to be in the mix are players like George Coetzee, Gregory Bourdy, Richard Sterne, Brandon Stone, and Thomas Aiken who have earned odds of 30/1 or better from Vegas.

Plenty of new blood will also be making their way to the European Tour with the start of the new season and one of the youngsters to keep an eye on is Bernd Ritthammer who finished the 2016 Challenge Tour season ranked second in the Road to Oman and is coming off his third victory at the Golf Classic Grand Final.  Another name to watch will be the latest qualifying school winner, Nathan Kimsey, but he is much further down the odds list.

These are often some of the toughest slates to predict with so many unknown names, but it is also an opportunity to dive a little deeper and see what the next crop of players has to offer.

Below are a few golfers, mostly out of South Africa, who you should look to when putting your DFS lineups together this week.

[membership level=”0″]

The Alfred Dunhill Championship Fantasy Picks and Predictions

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

The Alfred Dunhill Championship Fantasy Picks

Charl Schwartzel – $12,000 – This tournament has been dominated by Schwartzel in the past and his three wins over the last four years have come with ease.  He navigates this course like he owns the place and has gone a combined 59-under-par in his past four visits.  In the one year that he did not take home the trophy, he still managed to get into the top-30 with a three-under, 26^th-place finish, so his floor is tremendous heading into the week.  He owns the best aggregate (264) and to par (-24) marks in this event and last year nailed 81.9% of greens in regulation (3^rd in field) with 1.701 putts per GIR (12^th in field).  Schwartzel made the most of his 12 outings on the European Tour during the 2016 campaign, earning a pair of victories (one here and one in the Tshwane Open), and is coming off a third in the Race to Dubai Finale; The DP World Golf Championship.  He ranked top-15 in stroke average (70.5) thanks to a big drive (302.4 yards per, 10^th on Tour) and putts per GIR (1.732, 8^th on Tour) which should aid him in leaving the pack in the dust once again.

Brandon Stone – $8,800 – Stone will look to join Schwartzel, Grace, Garth Mulroy, Richard Sterne, and Ernie Els on the list of South Africans to win this tournament close to home.  Last year he performed well with a tie for 18^th after pounding the ball for an average of 312.1 yards on his drives (5^th in field) while sticking 77.8% of the greens in regulation (7^th in field).  He will now look to build on a breakout 2016 season in which he finished 50^th in the Race to Dubai behind six top-10s; including his first career win at the BMW SA Open.  The close to his season was not quite as successful, ranking no better than 52^nd over his last six events, but he still maintained a solid driver (297.1 yards per, 24^th on Tour) and the ability to get to the greens for birdie chances (69.3% GIR, 56^th on Tour).  It was evident that Stone excelled in the earlier parts of the year amongst weaker fields, and this is the ideal spot to see him come back into his own.

Zander Lombard – $7,800 – Lombard was all over the place in his first season on the European Tour in which he played more than 10 events.  He did manage to make it into the money on 9-of-12 chances, but tapered off once summer hit with just one finish in the top-25 over his last six tournaments from late June on.  It was a different story early on, though, as he earned four top-seven performances and nearly took down his first crown with a runner-up in the Joberg Open where he went 16-under-par and lost out to Porteous Haydn by a pair of strokes.  He earns his dough thanks to an advanced putter which ranked 26^th in putts per GIR (1.755) and 15^th in putts per round (28.7).  The 21-year-old should advance in all of his other areas, but with the putter being his strongest club at the moment, he has a high ceiling and should put up a nice performance at Leopard Creek.

Adrian Otaegui – $7,300 – Our first from outside of South Africa calls Spain home and is coming off of his best season on the European Tour.  Over the past three years, Otaegui has been able to compile 86 starts, and in each of his three years, the 24-year-old has earned his way into the money 15 times.  In the end it was his near victories which vaulted him up to 69^th in the Race to Dubai.  Twice he nearly came away with his first professional victory, coming in a tie for third at the Made in Denmark while sitting alone as the runner-up at the Lyoness Open.  He’s not one of the longest hitters out there, averaging a modest 290.6 yards per drive (79^th on Tour), but makes up for his lack in distance with consistency; pinpointing 67.3% of fairways off the tee (16^th on Tour).  There is a lot of upside for the Spaniard who looks to have the talents to take down a tournament very soon.

Adilson Da Silva – $7,200 – Da Silva is a veteran of the game as a longtime member of the Sunshine Tour and has been able to get his feet wet with 94 European Tour starts since 1994.  Over that span he has earned three top-10s, but a total of 12 victories on the South African tour and over 30 on the Zimbabwean PGA TOUR.  The last time he made it to this course for the event was 2015 and he carded a score of three-over while finishing in 54^th, but actually played seven under golf for three rounds with an 82 on Saturday which derailed his weekend.  He may not wow you with his power, but Da Silva has been around for a long time and could be a great story when Sunday rolls around.

Anthony Michael – $6,900 – Michael was one of the better players on the Sunshine Tour during the 2016 season and has increased his standing in the Order of Merit to a career-best eighth.  He was able to do so thanks to a slew of top-20s; including two top-threes.  One of those high finishes came in his last European Tour sanctioned event as he took third at the Tshwane Open on the heels of a six-under, 64 four in his opening round.  Michael is playing the best golf of his career, and while he is certainly a wild-card when there are some better players in the field, he is someone to consider in this price range given his recent success.

[/membership]

Cover photo via Instagram