Golf: South African Open makes come back to Durban Country Club
The 100th edition of South African Open will be hitting the Durban Country Club in December with a huge star-studded cast eyeing the €1,000,000 worth of purse.
The mega event is scheduled for 16th December and is likely to continue till the 19th. According to the official website of the Sunshine Tour, the event will mark the end of the tour which started with Africa
Open in January. Moreover, it is being sponsored by BMW, Castle Lite, Rolex, the KZN Government, Goose Wines, Nandos, Southern Sun, Golf Digest, and the International Marketing Council.
The headliners of the event are Major winners Retief Goosen, Louis Oosthuizen and defending champion Richie Ramsay. All three veterans are equally excited for the upcoming event.
According to Goosen, "There is something indescribable about winning your own national Open. I was 26 years old when I won my first title and it was one of the proudest moments of my career: Winning two SA Open titles rates right
up there with winning two Majors. The SA Open is steeped in history. Some of the greatest players of this country have won it. It's a great feeling to see your name on that trophy next to players like Bobby Locke and Gary Player."
Goosen has twice won the South African Open. The last time he triumphed in Durban Country Club was five years from now.
Louis Oosthuizen is also eyeing his second win of this title. According to the great conqueror of St Andrews, it will be a great honour for him to play on the course, where Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els once carved victories.
Oosthuizen said, "It's the one title every South African golfer wants to win. I think it would be amazing to match Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els. What a record that would be, but mostly, I would just like to win our country's
national Open at least once and get my name on the trophy next to theirs."
Apart from the two stars, Richard Ramsay will also tee off to defend his title. The Scot is in strong form which is evident from his third place finish at HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
The three-time Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner, Charl Schwartzel is also on the list and according to the press release, the veteran is eyeing his first title at the year-end. If Schwartzel wins the title, he will automatically
break the highest-money-making record set by Richard Sterne in 2008. The South African gave an outstanding performance in Dubai World Championship and managed a spot in top five for two rounds.
Schwartzel is looking forward to the big event. The 26-year-old won twice on the European Tour and reached the top 50 players in Race to Dubai. However, he has never claimed a victory in the event, which is the flagship tournament
in Sunshine Tour.
Adding to the challenge will be Tim Clark: one man the entire field fears. The veteran twice won the SA Open at Durban Country Club and seized the title in Players Championship. According to the champion, home and fans are the
biggest motivation behind his victories. He further adds that he wants to match the three- time-victory record set by Gary Player.
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