Steve Palmer's Nedbank Challenge preview, free tip, course guide and TV details

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Nedbank Challenge at Gary Player Country Club on the European Tour

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 7am Thursday

Best bet

Louis Oosthuizen
5pts each-way 9-1 Betfair, BoyleSports, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Lee Westwood won a third Nedbank Challenge title last year, ending a European Tour victory drought of more than four years with a spectacular final-round 64, and the Englishman will be a popular selection for Sun City this week after a bright effort in Turkey.

Westwood, employing a new 'pencil' putting grip and with Tour pro Sam Walker recruited as caddie, tied for tenth place in the Turkish Airlines Open on Sunday. That was his first top-ten finish since the Open Championship, though, and the layers appear to have overreacted with a short price for the Gary Player Country Club.

Race to Dubai leader Bernd Wiesberger may have run out of puff, following a final-round 75 in the WGC-HSBC Champions with a lacklustre effort in the Turkish Airlines Open, while Matt Wallace has also gone off the boil, following 60th place in China with 50th spot in Turkey.

Gary Player Country Club is a slog for the accurate but short-hitting Matthew Fitzpatrick, while Henrik Stenson, who last month had to retire his trusty but worn-out Diablo Octane Tour three wood after eight years of service, was awful in Houston on his last Stateside start and carded four humdrum 70s in China last time out.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Louis Oosthuizen 9-1

Lee Westwood covered the final eight holes of last year's Nedbank in five under par, piling pressure on Louis Oosthuizen, who was left with too much to do after bogeying the par-four 15th.

Oosthuizen, who carded eight Sunday birdies in a generally magnificent closing round, was stunned by the gear that Westwood found and the gutted local hero made a double-bogey at the 18th once his winning chance had gone.

Oosthuizen looked the likely winner for 68 holes of his Nedbank campaign last year and there must be every chance he avenges that near-miss with a 72-hole success on Sunday. Everything points to the tournament being dominated by the 2010 Open champion, who is seeking his tenth European Tour victory.

The 37-year-old has been threatening glory in the event known as Africa's Major for almost a decade, with form figures of 12-4-14-7-11-9-8-3 since his Nedbank debut in 2010, and he is extremely well suited to the course. Aside from his obvious comfort on kikuyu grass and in the altitude of Sun City, the long, demanding tee-to-green assignment plays to the strengths of this sweet swinger, who typically oozes long-game control.

Oosthuizen is still waiting for his Nedbank breakthrough, but he is a course champion, having won the 2007 Dimension Data Pro-Am at this venue on the Sunshine Tour. And his record competing at home is superb. Five of his last seven European Tour victories have come in South Africa, including his last one. He recovered from the narrow Nedbank defeat by leading the field a merry dance in the South African Open – a six-shot triumph to claim his national title for the first time.

Oosthuizen was hugely emotional after the SA Open and this patriotic soul always carries a strong desire to perform well for home galleries. The keen rugby union fan has been in high spirits since the World Cup and will be looking to continue the sporting success of his country by landing an overdue Nedbank title.

A light but productive recent schedule enhances confidence in Oosthuizen. He took two months off after 15th place in the Tour Championship, then worked the rust out of his system with 46th spot in the Zozo Championship before finishing third in the WGC-HSBC Champions, carding four rounds in the 60s.

King Louis, as he is known in his homeland, is looking to maintain his form for the forthcoming Presidents Cup, where he will be the only South African on a team captained by his compatriot Ernie Els, and the enormous $2.5m Nedbank cheque would be the ideal pre-Melbourne fillip. The size of the winner's cheque – double that of last year – will catch the eye of the lesser lights this week. The richest players in the field though – of which Oosthuizen is one – will not be impacted negatively by the fortunes on offer.

Oosthuizen found his A-game in China, then rested last week while many in the Nedbank field trekked from Antalya to Sun City – typically a 15-hour journey via Istanbul – after competing in the Turkish Airlines Open. He has nobody to fear in this line-up and is the most appealing favourite of the year.

With Betfair, BoyleSports and Paddy Power offering each-way terms of a fifth the odds for the first seven places, the favourite seems a gift at 9-1, even though the early 10-1 has been understandably gobbled up.

Players to note

Erik van Rooyen
The improving South African tied for second in Turkey on Sunday – one of five playoff losers – and is looking to bounce back from that near-miss. He was 60th on his Nedbank debut last year, but ninth in the 2016 Sun City Challenge there, and is a fair price.

Tommy Fleetwood
The 2017 Race to Dubai champion possesses the tee-to-green class to handle the Gary Player Country Club and has a solid record there. He has been short of sparkle in the last month – 20th in the CJ Cup was followed by 22nd in the Zozo and 53rd in the HSBC – but a week off may have revived him. He is arguably the biggest threat to Oosthuizen.

Thomas Pieters
The Belgian bomber sandwiched two flat rounds in between two good ones in Turkey, ending up in 17th place, and he could be a Nedbank factor if finding some flat-stick form. His record in South Africa is off-putting.

Romain Langasque
The talented French youngster typically performs well in Africa, including a runner-up effort behind Oosthuizen in the 2018 SA Open, and ninth place in Turkey on Sunday was an encouraging Nedbank warm-up.

Tom Lewis
The Englishman, a card holder on both the European and PGA Tour, has the game to handle the Gary Player Country Club, but 67th place was a disappointing debut last year.

Jordan Smith
The man from Bath has the ball-striking quality to light up Sun City and was 21st there last year, but there are serious questions over his temperament and his putting.

Alexander Noren
The Swede won the Nedbank by six shots in 2016, closing with a 63, but he lacks the confidence he had three years ago. Having hit the front in Turkey last week, his putting problems reappeared, and a few tiddlers went begging.

Kurt Kitayama
The American slugger was one of the five playoff losers in Turkey. He has been strongly threatening a third European Tour title and should make a decent Nedbank debut.

Gary Player Country Club course guide

Course Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, South Africa
Prize money €6.8m (€2.266m to the winner)
Length 7,827 yards
Par 72
Field 63
Course records- 72 holes 263 Ernie Els (1999) 18 holes 62 Lee Westwood (2011)

Course winners taking part Ernie Els (three times), Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood (three times), Martin Kaymer, Thomas Bjorn, Alexander Noren, Branden Grace

When to bet By 7am Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 7am Thursday

Time difference South Africa is two hours ahead of the UK and Ireland

Last week - Turkish Airlines Open 1 T Hatton (16-1), T2 K Kitayama (45-1), E Van Rooyen (33-1), V Perez (40-1), B Hebert (140-1), M Schwab (28-1)

Course overview The Nedbank Challenge became part of the European Tour Final Series for the first time in 2016, with the field size increasing from 30 to 72. Traditionally only 12 players went to post in this elite, mega-bucks gathering, but European Tour involvement in 2013 prompted dramatic changes. The Gary Player Country Club has hosted the Nedbank Challenge (formerly the Million Dollar Challenge) since 1981. The Dimension-Data Pro-Am (1996 to 2009) and the Sun City Challenge (2007-2011 and 2016-2019) are two low-grade Sunshine Tour events which were also staged at this venue. This year the field has been reduced to 63, with the first prize doubling from $1.25m to $2.5m. The course is enormous, but a variety of tees can be used to alter the yardage if bad weather makes the full length unplayable. The layout boasts kikuyu fairways and fast, clover-shaped, bentgrass greens surrounded by bunkers, swales and mounds. Some very low scores were carded many years ago – Padraig Harrington shot an 11-under-par 61 in 2001 playing with preferred lies, while Ernie Els (25 under par in 1999) and Nick Price (24 under in 1993) have also butchered Player's design. The lengthening of the course, though, has made life tougher for visitors. There are two par-five holes on each nine, but players usually have to work hard for birdies at the 596-yard ninth (island green) and the 601-yard 14th (green surrounded by a large waste bunker). The shortest of the four par threes is 211 yards, but the course is at altitude, so the ball flies further than usual

The story of last year Louis Oosthuizen buckled in front over the closing holes, allowing an inspired Lee Westwood past, and the Englishman surged to a three-shot triumph

Weather forecast Sporadic thunderstorms should help to soften the course. There is not much breeze forecast, with Sunday expected to see the windiest of the four competition days

Type of player suited to the challenge Big-hitters have asserted themselves on the Gary Player Country Club over the last decade and quality ball-striking is the key to slaying his vast layout

Key attribute Power

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