Joburg Open

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Branden Grace to beat Charl Schwartzel - 5 points @ 9-5 (Pinnacle)

In this co-sanctioned event the bookmakers seemed to have most of the matchups pretty bang on and there was a reluctance to play this week until spotting this little gem.

Of course, these eally are the 'Big Two' players this week, having won  the last three runnings of this event between them and there are few secrets about either. Nevertheless, whilst it seems we are always with Grace in some way or other, there are valid reasons for thinking that 9-5 is a silly price against the tournament fav.

Major winner Schwartzel's claims are easy to see. He was finding form last last year after a spell in the wilderness and strolled home in Thailand and the Alfred Dunhill.  Those wins reaffirmed his belief that he can contend in the big events once again and he will surely be tuning his game for Augusta in a few weeks time. Naturally, with event finishes of 19-4-1-1 we can ignore last seasons missed cut but he still has to prove he is sharp enough to deliver first time out this season and they have put him up against a proven winner with equal if not further improvement in him.

Lots has been written about Branden Grace who kick-started his 2012 winathon at this event with a nervy final round but his progress since then has been fascinating with three further wins from even better fields. This season he hasn't quite been at his best but he is showing natural improvement having finished fast in the Volvo Champions and in Abu before looking slightly tired towards the end of Qatar. These all ended with top-10 finishes however and he is surely a winner-in-waiting once again. He has already attempted the defence of one title with that respectable 7th and will know what to expect from the media and public. The week off will have sharpened him up and whilst this could be tight, it isn't a pick-your-own and there is no logical reason why they should bet 1-2, 9-5.