Dimension Data Pro-Am

Outright plays (1 unit):

Craig Lile to win 16/1 e.w. @ William Hill
Nick Price may be a very short-priced favourite, but his low win/start ratio suggests value and a winner may be found elsewhere. In terms of getting into contention, the Lile looks a strong prospect. The two-time All American collegiate player looked very impressive for three rounds while leading the South African Open two weeks ago. He succumbed to a final round 77 to final down the leaderboard, but impressively bounced back with a 6th place finish last week. Having finished 8th and 5th in his two attempts at this title, he should once again be on the leaderboard on Sunday.

Andrew McLardy to win 25/1 e.w. @ Paddy Power and BlueSq
McLardy may not be as bright a prospect as Lile, but he has a very solid record in his home country, winning once (2002 Royal Swazi Sun Open) and finishing in the top-5 four times in 14 starts over the past three years. One of those high finishes was in this event last year when he closed with a 65 to finish just one shot behind Immelman and having closed last week's event with three good rounds, he should also feature this week.

Bruce Vaughan to win 33/1 e.w. @ Paddy Power and BlueSq
Vaughan is quite a different player to the other selections. Lile, in particular, in just starting on the professional road, while Vaughan has only to wait two more years until he is eligible to compete on the Champions Tour. He is also American, but has based himself on this Tour (plus the Nationwide Tour) for many years and he has a particularly good record in this event with finishes of 3rd, 10th, 7th, 17th and 2nd in the last five years. He was only defeated by a very strong performance from Immelman last year in a field that also contained Nick Price and Darren Clarke. Only one of that trio has returned and a repeat of his course form should result in another very high finish.

Final update: 0-3; -3.00 units

Lile 21st
McLardy 6th
Vaughan 24th

Disappointing blank after McLardy started the final round in 5th place so there were hopes of a place finish to cover the other losses. But in truth, none of them played well enough to challenge for the title. A good opportunity against a poor field sadly wasted.