The Tshwane Open returns to Pretoria and the Country Club in Waterfloof, SA. Thankfully some better weather is on the horizon for this part of the world this weekend and despite some threats on thunderstorms throughout the week we look set for a full 72 hole event. This course is very tight and with plenty of rain recently the rough will be tangly and important to stay out of. Scoring will be very good here and on Sunday it could end up to be a free for all and he who possesses the hottest putter on day four will prevail. Pretoria has hosted this event the past two years and a number of Sunshine tour events so there is enough evidence to study and make a decision.

We'll start our attack on this event with none other than the jolly GEORGE COETZEE. There are negatives to be dealt with here. The course on paper doesn't suit the swashbuckling nature on Coetzee's game. You really are flying on the seat of your pants with his fella most of the time. He can have wild drives but there is something about this place that maybe concentrates his mind on the tee. It has resulted in a win and 14th placed finishes the past two years so these are huge positives. Add to that a runner up spot at this course a number of years back on the Sunshine Tour and for me there is enough evidence to suggest he can overpower this track. My main reasoning behind betting him was his finish last week. He finished with a flourish to finish 7th last week but what was telling was his iron play. He hunted down the flags on Sunday and if the same Coetzee turns up at his home course in Pretoria then I'd fancy him to be the one to beat. As I'm nervous about the rough and the impact it may have this will be a win only boom or bust bet for me.

Gerge Coetzee - 2.5pts @ 10/1Lost -2.5pts

I was planning on having a bigger bet on Coetzee but upon examining the opposition I have been too tempted to look elsewhere and I'll be going with a larger than usual attack on this event this week. THOMAS AIKEN has proven he can play well here with five top tens posted here when this course was a staple part of the Sunshine Tour's diet a decade ago. Solid results for the South African has put together some impressive results of late. The end of 2016 and the start of 2017 were terrific with top 5s posted in the Alfred Dunhill, South African Open and Qatar. Sandwiched between those was a top 15 in Abu Dhabi. Now he arrives at a course that suits his consistent long game I'm not overly bowled over by the price but I feel he is one of the more likely winners.

Thomas Aiken - 1.5pts e/w @ 22/1Lost -3pts

JAMES MORRISON has been playing very decent golf these past few weeks and can not be overlooked in a field that is very heavily weighted towards the top 20 or so in the betting. A top 25 in Dubai at the start of the month was followed by a top 15 in Malaysia and a top 5 last week in Joburg where he came with a wet sail but was just a shade too late to the party. A few performances were worthy of note last year. A top 5 at the toughest driving venue of the year at Valderrama was backed up with a top10 at the K Club where you had to drive it well with the heavy rough. He missed the cut here two years ago but has progressed a fair bit since then. His game is in solid nick and 40/1 is tasty enough to get involved.

James Morrison - 1pt e/w @ 40/1Lost -2pts

Finally I'll finish with two smaller bets on two lively sorts this week. NACHO ELVIRA has improved this last twelve months or so and I do believe a tight track suits the Spaniard. Some impressive results in the last number of months with top 10s in Portugal and Turkey at the back end of last year and 6th and 11th in Qatar and Dubai at the start of this year. He has a solid long game and an event of this stature should not be beyond him. A lively outsider.

Nacho Elvira - 0.75pts e/w @ 50/1Lost -1.5pts

One other worth a small wager is RYAN FOX. He has somewhat disappointed me in recent weeks with average results but I feel this course will suit his game better. 7 made cuts on the trot show that Fox is playing consistent enough golf to make a living here. I walked around 18 holes with him on the final day of the N.Ireland Challenge Tour event last year and I was hugely impressed with what I saw. He bulldozed his opponents on day four and for a while it looked like a 59 was in sight. Galgorm is a tight enough track where you have to shape your ball and play to narrow landing spots. Similar attributes apply to this track and I feel he is worth supporting at 66/1.

Ryan Fox - 0.75pts e/w @ 66/1Lost -1.5pts