After a three year absence due to COVID, the Nedbank Golf Challenge returns this week to stage the penultimate event of the 2022 DP World Tour season. Tommy Fleetwood will be defending his title at Gary Player Country Club as players vie for a final spot in the DP World Tour Tour Championship.
Thomas Detry is going to win at some point soon, he just is. The challenge is going to be figuring out whether he does it in Europe, or on the PGA Tour. His start to this PGA Tour season has proven what we suspected, he is capable of playing at that level, but what we still know, is he is yet to win on the top two tours.
In two starts at the Nedbank, Detry finished 7th and 3rd and on both occasions, he had a chance to win. In 2018, Detry was in 3rd place, and three shots back going into Sunday, despite opening with a 75. He couldn’t put pressure on Sergio Garcia that year, and it was a similar story in 2019, when finishing 3rd.
That time, he had posted three-straight under-par rounds to open on this tough layout, and went into the last day, one shot back of Zander Lombard. A final-round 74 saw him fall away, ending up four shots short of the Tommy Fleetwood, Marcus Kinhult playoff.
A better player since the two starts here, Sun City looks the perfect place for Detry to make a breakthrough, even if statistically he doesn’t appear to be living up to his form.
The Belgian is 5 for 5 for made cuts on the PGA Tour this season, and has 2nd, 9th, 12th, and 15th place finishes in those starts. He’s a short price, but it feels inevitable a first win could come at this price, after years of people backing him at bigger.
The European Tour betting favorite this week is Robert MacIntrye, who comes in at 10-to-1 (+1000) betting odds.
Let’s hope the weather holds out for some exciting golf in Africa’s Major.
My Goat Sports 