This article is part of our DraftKings Euro Tour series.
JOBURG OPEN
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Course: Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club
Yardage: East Course - 7,656 yards; West Course - 7,203 yards
Par: East Course - 72; West Course - 71
2016 Champion: Haydn Porteous
Tournament Preview
The European tour is back on DraftKings, after a week where the final round was decided by matchplay and won by Brett Rumford in Australia. This week the tour moves to Johannesburg South Africa for the Joburg Open. It is the largest tournament held in South Africa and has had its leaderboards dominated by locals over the years, seven of the 10 champions have been from South Africa. For this reason, let's focus on locals this week.
The tournament is played at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC. Golfers will play the East and West Courses over the first two rounds and then play only the East Course for the final two rounds after the cut. The East Course is long, containing back to back par 4s of over 500 yards each. What the West Course lacks in yardage by comparison, it makes up for with water hazards.
The Joburg Open is part of the Open Qualifying Series. It gives three players who finish in the top 10 and ties, who are not otherwise exempt, a spot at the 146th Open at Royal Birkdale.
Key Stats to Winning at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC
• Driving distance
• Greens in regulation
DRAFTKINGS PICKS
Brandon Stone - $11,500
Stone has been sold this year, save a bit of a hiccup in January, but has since retuned to form. He has good course history with a T28 last year and a T16 in 2014. He is young talent, who has already won twice, and is also one of the longest drivers on tour.
Dean Burmester - $9,000
Burmester has missed only one cut since last July. He has played well in this tournament with a T31 last year and T13 the year prior. He bombs it off the tee and is hitting 73 percent of greens this year.
Trevor Fisher - $7,700
Trevor is coming off a missed cut, but had a T5 the week before that. His excellent course history is worth a serious look. He was T13 last year and T32 in 2015. He also had a T6 in 2013 and a T3 in 2012. He checks the box in GIR and is long enough off the tee.
Jacques Blaauw - $7,500
Blaauw is coming off a T21 at the BMW SA Open last month. He is another local who plays well in this tournament. Jacques was T7 here last year and the year before. He is looking to improve on that and still looking for his first win. Blaauw is flying under the radar this week.
Haydn Porteous - $7,400
The defending champion is heating up at the right time for a title defense. He had six missed cuts before the turnaround at the Maybank Championship two weeks ago where he finished T26. Porteous is coming in with good vibes from last year's win. This tournament, in its 10 years time, has had two multiple winners already. Porteous is long off the tee and quickly has an advantage here.
Jbe Kruger - $6,600
Kruger hit a bump in the road last time out but was playing solid prior. I believe he returns to form on his home turf. He knows this course well and has had decent success here, his best being T9 in 2012. Kruger over the last year has a trend of bouncing back the next tournament after a missed cut. He has plenty of length and is 68 percent GIR.
