This article is part of our DraftKings Euro Tour series.
BMW SA Open
Location: City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa
Course: Glendower GC
Yardage: 7,594
Par: 72
Tournament Preview
The European Tour returns to South Africa, where the BMW SA Open will be contested at Glendower GC for the fifth consecutive year. Many of South Africa's top golfers will be among the players competing to win the second-oldest national open championship -- only The Open has been around longer. Glendower is said to be a course that tests every aspect of your game, and upon looking at previous results it appears that long hitters and the top ball strikers have dominated the leaderboards. The tree-lined course has slight undulation with plenty of bunkers and water hazards. Considering this is the first event in over a month for most of the field, course history will be weighted along with form prior to the break.
Key Stats to Winning at Glendower Golf Club
Greens in Regulation
Driving Distance
Past Champions
2017 - Graeme Storm
2016 - Brandon Stone
2015 - Andy Sullivan
2014 - Morten Orum Madsen
2012 - Henrik Stenson
DraftKings Picks (with odds)
Dean Burmester, $9,800 - (22/1)
Burmester finished off the calendar year strong, with a T4 at the Tour Championship, and a T19 at Joburg Open last time out. He is a monster off the tee and continued to improve his iron game last season. Burmester has had much success here the last couple of years, finishing solo fourth last year and T10 the year prior. Expect the good vibes at Glendower GC to continue.
Erik Van Rooyen, $9,200 - (28/1)
Van Rooyen comes to Glendower hot off a solo second at the Joburg Open. He also won on the Challenge Tour back in October. This should be an exciting year for the young South African, who averages well over 300 yards off the tee and is fantastic with his irons. Van Rooyen is currently ranked second in GIR to start the season. He did miss the cut at Glendower GC last year, but was hardly playing as well, and did notch finishes of T18 in 2016 and T33 in 2015.
Jordan Smith, $8,800 - (25/1)
This will be Smith's first start since the Tour Championship, where he finished T25. He started last year strong with a solo third at Glendower GC, which was his first appearance in the BMW SA Open. He has the stats needed to win here, as he is long off the tee and is hitting over 70 percent of greens in regulation. His comfort here will help fuel another fast start to his season.
Tapio Pulkkanen, $6,900 - (100/1)
Looking for value at the bottom tier leads me to Pulkkanen, who has a very bright future. He is the number one ranked player on the Challenge Tour and seems to be fitting in nicely on the European Tour, given his T3 at the Joburg Open. Pulkkanen is hitting 67 percent of greens in regulation to start the season and is extremely long off the tee. It will be his first time at Glendower GC, and his debut figures tol go well.
