South_African_Open_(golf)

South African Open (golf)

South African Open (golf)

Golf tournament

The South African Open is one of the oldest national open golf championships in the world, having first been played in 1903, and is one of the principal tournaments on the Southern-Africa-based Sunshine Tour. Since 1997 it has also been co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

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History

The first formal event was organised in 1903, following a series of exhibition matches that had been held over the preceding ten years. The championship was initially contested over just 36 holes until 1908, when it was extended to become a 72-hole tournament.[1] Although non-whites had played in the South African Open before, most notably when Papwa Sewgolum finished second in 1963, it was not until 1972 that black golfers were allowed to compete.[2]

From 2011 until February 2020 it was held in the Johannesburg area; twice at Serengeti Golf Club, followed by five times at Glendower Golf Club, and then twice at Randpark Golf Club. In December 2020 it will move away from Johannesburg and be held at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City.

Gary Player has been the most successful player in the tournament's history, with 13 victories over four decades between 1956 and 1981. Bobby Locke won nine titles, Sid Brews won eight titles, and George Fotheringham won the event five times as did Ernie Els.

In December 2018, the event became part of the Open Qualifying Series, giving up to three non-exempt players entry into The Open Championship.

The 2021 event was scheduled to be a co-sanctioned event between the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. However due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in place in the UK from South Africa, the event was revised as a sole-sanctioned Sunshine Tour event.[3]

Flagship event

From 1999 to 2016, the tournament was the Sunshine Tour's flagship event for the purposes of the Official World Golf Ranking, earning a minimum of 32 OWGR points for the winner. It was replaced as the flagship event for 2017 by the Alfred Dunhill Championship before regaining its status the following year.[4] In 2020, the Alfred Dunhill Championship once again replaced the South African Open as the tour's flagship event.[5] In 2021, the Alfred Dunhill Championship was scheduled to be the flagship event for the second consecutive year. However due to the cancellation of the tournament, the South African Open regained its flagship event status for the first time since the January 2020 event.[6]

Winners

Sunshine Tour (Flagship event) 1999–2016, 2018–2020 (Jan), 2021
Sunshine Tour (Regular) 1972–1998, 2017, 2020 (Dec), 2022–
Pre-Sunshine Tour1903–1971
More information #, Year ...

Source:[1][31]

Notes

  1. AFR − Sunshine Tour; ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.
  2. (a) – Amateur
  3. Due to impending COVID-19 related travel restrictions in and out of South Africa affecting the makeup of the field, the event was removed from the European Tour schedule. It proceeded as a sole-sanctioned Sunshine Tour event.[7]
  4. Storm won with a par on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.
  5. Sullivan won with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
  6. Unofficial scoring record as the 4th hole was unplayable during the 3rd and 4th rounds due to heavy rain. For scoring purposes, all players were deemed to have recorded a par for the hole.
  7. Ramsay won with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
  8. Sterne won with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
  9. Immelman won with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
  10. McNulty won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
  11. Player defeated Bland with a birdie on the third hole of sudden-death after both had tied with 2 under-par 70s after an 18-hole playoff; Humphreys returned a level-par 72 in the playoff.
  12. Hayes won following an 18-hole playoff; Hayes 69, Fourie 72.
  13. Henning won the 36-hole playoff with a score of 144 to Guthrie's 146.
  14. Boyd won the 36-hole playoff with a score of 162 to Hayes 163.
  15. Janks won the 36-hole playoff with a score of 147 to Guthrie's 153.
  16. Olander won the 36-hole playoff with a score of 146 to Robertson's 151.
  17. Some sources have Waters score as 146.
  18. Gray won the playoff by a stroke with a score of 151.

References

  1. [1]
    "SA Amateur & Open". South African Golf Association. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. [2]
    "South African Open Championship History and Highlights". South African Open Championship. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  3. [3]
    "Irish golfers battling travel chaos to get back from South Africa after pulling out of Joburg Open". Irish Independent. 26 November 2021.
  4. [4]
    "SA Open receives world ranking flagship status". News 24. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. [5]
    "How the ranking evolved". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. [6]
    Sherman, Michael (1 December 2021). "SA Open goes ahead without co-sanctioned status for first time in 25 years". IOL. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Irish golfers battling travel chaos to get back from South Africa after pulling out of Joburg Open". Irish Independent. 26 November 2021.
  8. [8]
    "South African Open: Graeme Storm beats Rory McIlroy in play-off to win title". BBC Sport. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Andy Sullivan wins South African Open for first European Tour title". BBC Sport. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  10. [10]
    Bisset, Fergus (20 December 2009). "Richie Ramsay wins South African Open Championship". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  11. [11]
    Bisset, Fergus (21 December 2008). "Richard Sterne Wins South African Open Championship". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  12. [12]
    "For Immelman, 'greatest way to start the year'". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 January 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  13. [13]
    McCormack, Mark H. (1991). The World of Professional Golf 1991. Chapmans. p. 495. ISBN 1855925583.
  14. [14]
    "Switch in time a knock-out for Darcy". The Glasgow Herald. 1 February 1988. p. 9. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  15. [15]
    "Mark McNulty". The Glasgow Herald. 9 February 1987. p. 10. Retrieved 21 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  16. [16]
    McCormack, Mark H. (1988). Ebel World of Professional Golf 1988. Collins Willow. pp. 220, 439–440. ISBN 0002182831.
  17. [17]
    "David Frost". The Glasgow Herald. 10 February 1987. p. 11. Retrieved 21 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  18. [18]
    "Golf". The Guardian. 28 January 1985. p. 23. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. [19]
    "Golf". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 January 1983. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  20. [20]
    "Player makes it a lucky thirteenth". The Glasgow Herald. 7 December 1981. p. 16. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  21. [21]
    "Palmer senior champ". The Montreal Gazette. 8 December 1980. p. 19. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  22. [22]
    "Weekend sport in brief | Golf". The Glasgow Herald. 10 December 1979. p. 19. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  23. [23]
    "South African Open". The Montreal Gazette. 11 December 1978. p. 38. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  24. [24]
    "Gary wins record 10th open". The Age. 29 November 1975. p. 24. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  25. [25]
    "Hayes triumphs in play-off". The Glasgow Herald. 3 February 1976. p. 23. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  26. [26]
    "Its the Player habit". The Age. 3 February 1975. p. 25. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  27. [27]
    "Cole wins SA Open". The Glasgow Herald. 4 February 1974. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  28. [28]
    Jacobs, Raymond (5 February 1973). "Revised Charles swing again pays dividends". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  29. [29]
    "Player wins by one stroke". The Glasgow Herald. 14 February 1972. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  30. [30]
    "Hobday holds off Player". The Glasgow Herald. 15 February 1971. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  31. [31]
    The Allied Book of South African Sport & Sports Records. SASBOR. 1988. pp. 1941–1949. ISBN 0620128828 – via Google Books.

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