The Punter's In-Play Blog: Dubuisson leads tricky looking heat at halfway

They're reached the halfway stage of the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Victor Dubuisson has hit the front. Is he a good thing at 5.10 with 36 holes to play? Read what our man thinks here...

17:45 - November 10, 2017

The second round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba is well underway and I'll be back tomorrow with a look at the state of play at halfway but I have had one in-running play already. I backed Si Woo Kim after he'd played the back-nine today but he did nothing after that until he birdied the eighth hole (his 17th) so it looks like a stray bullet. A few of my picks have done OK so far but for now I'm going to concentrate on the Nedbank Golf Challenge, where Victor Dubuisson leads by two after 36 holes.

Lightening put pay to play with the leaders still having three holes left but they eventually came out and finished up so here are the current standings with prices to back at 17:35

Victor Dubuisson -6 5.10

Lee Westwood -4 9.80
Darren Fichardt -4 32.00

Tyrrell Hatton -3 7.00
Alex Noren -3 9.00
Ross Fisher -3 9.20
Scott Jamieson -3 46.00

Martin Kaymer -2 29.00
Charl Schwartzel -2 18.00

-1 and 24.00 bar

It was an interesting, mainly tough, and long second round. A troublesome wind caused havoc early on and scoring was erratic before play was suspended. The day one leader, Bernd Wiesberger, had an horrific day, shooting a five-over-par 77 to drop to a tie for 17th and Branden Grace, who sat tied for second behind the Austrian after round one, played his first eight holes in six-over-par! He's now just a stroke better than Wiesberger and that was thanks to a terrific finish. He shot 42 on the front-nine and 33 on the back-nine.

Dubbuisson dropped a shot at the last hole but he's been very impressive up to now, playing some very neat and tidy golf in the worst of the winds. This is the first time he's held a clear lead at halfway but he's been tied for the lead through 36 holes three times previously.

He ran away with the Turkish Airlines Open in 2013 (his first title) but failed on the next two occasions - losing a playoff at the Nordea Masters to Thongchai Jaidee in 2014 before losing his way badly at the Open de France in 2015. He eventually finished 12th in Paris, beaten by 11 strokes.

I'm not convinced we can read anything in to that last poor effort in-the-mix and he looks fairly priced given how well he's playing but this isn't an event to get stuck in to. Dubuisson is a notoriously unpredictable character who'd much prefer to be fishing than playing golf and there are a number of players within three of his lead that look dangerous.

Lee Westwood has won here twice before so has to be respected but he's a very poor putter nowadays and Darren Fichardt is surely out of his depth in this company. He only got in at the last minute when Anthony Wall withdrew with a bad back yesterday morning so he's running free but he's not great in-contention and I fully expect him to fall away. The dangers to Dubuisson look to be looming a bit further and three of the four players on three-under-par all look ominously placed.

Tyrrell Hatton was disappointing after a fast start in Turkey last week but after back-to-back wins last month he's clearly in form and Ross Fisher, who finished second to Hatton on both occasions, can't be dismissed lightly. Apart from his strange week in China a fortnight ago, Fisher has been playing superbly and he loves the course. And so does Alex Noren, who won by six 12 months ago having trailed by six with a round to go.

Throw in the proximity of past winner, Martin Kaymer, and the two big South African guns, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, and we've got a wide open event that looks one to avoid at present.

Nedbank Golf Challenge Pre-Event Selections:
Kiradech Aphibarnrat @ 40.00
Dylan Frittelli @ 65.00

OHL Classic at Mayakoba Pre-Event Selections:
Chesson Hadley @ 28.00
Zach Johnson @ 38.00
Russel Knox @ 80.00
Brian Stuard @ 150.00
Fabián Gómez @ 500.00

In-Play Pick:
Si Woo Kim @ 46.00