Preview
2023 SDC Championship Tips
You can sign up for all our SDC Championship tips and DP World Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.
Event Info
Starts: 16th March 2023
Course: St Francis Links, South Africa
Par: 72
Length: 7,167 yards
2022 Champion: New event
Course Info
Designer: Jack Nicklaus
Course Type: Links
Last hosted: N/A
Fairways: Wide
Par 5's: 3rd, 6th, 13th and 16th
Premium on: Distance
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
This is a new event on the DP World Tour.St Francis Links has hosted a number of events on the Sunshine Tour in recent years. Most recently, the 2021 and 2022 PGA Championship and the 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf.
Weather Forecast
A very windy forecast, proceed with caution!
Thursday: Sunny with wind blowing in excess of 30mph and gusts in excess of 40mph.
Friday: Sunny intervals with wind 25-30mph and gusts in excess of 35mph.
Saturday: Sunny intervals with the wind peaking at 15mph.
Sunday: Sunny intervals with the wind peaking at 15mph.
Trends
Winning score
Winning scores on the Sunshine Tour were -17 and -15 for the 72 hole events. The Vodacom Origins of Golf event was a 54 hole event and won with a score of -13. We should expect a score of between -14 and -18.
Course form
Bear in mind many of the South African players will have the advantage of course knowledge this week.
Stats Analysis
We don't have stats from the events played at St Francis on the Sunshine Tour but we can look at the profiles of the winners to gather some clues.
Driving Accuracy
None of the three course winners rank inside the top 60 for Driving Accuracy in 2022/23 on the Sunshine Tour. Indeed, Ruan Korb and Dean Burmester rank outside the top 150 in this statistic.
Driving Distance
Distance appears to be advantageous with two of the three course winners (Ruan Korb and Dean Burmester) ranking inside the top 10 in Driving Distance for 2022/23 on the Sunshine Tour. George Coetzee is no slouch off the tee either and so distance off the tee is favoured.
Greens in Regulation
None of the three course winners ranked inside the top 30 in the season long Greens in Regulation stats for 2021/22 (there are no stats for 2022/23 for Burmester and Coetzee).
SDC Championship In-Play Advice
Tough Holes
The 9th hole is expected to play as one of the harder holes.
Birdie Holes
The four par 5 holes, along with the short par 4 12th hole will all offer up birdie opportunities.
Fast or Slow Start
Dean Burmester was 16th after the opening round of the 2021 PGA Championship, six shots off the pace. Conversely, George Coetzee was first round leader when winning here at the 2022 PGA Championship.
2023 SDC Championship Tips
You can sign up for all our SDC Championship tips and DP World Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.