Five things to look out for in South Africa

With 210 players teeing it up over two courses at the Joburg Open, there is plenty to keep an eye on this week at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club...

South African talent

Home has certainly proved a happy hunting ground for South Africans since the Joburg Open’s inception ten years ago. That precedent means there will be plenty of potential homecoming heroes waiting in the wings this week.

There have been seven South African victories in total, courtesy of five different men. Charl Schwartzel, a back-to-back winner in 2010 and 2011, and Haydn Porteous hail from this week’s host city, with the latter eager to repeat Schwartzel’s impressive feat from six years ago.

Among the other South African natives who could be in contention this week are two-time tour winner Brandon Stone and Zander Lombard. While Stone claimed both of his victories in his home country, Lombard finished in second place in Johannesburg last season and had three other top tens. Both will be aiming to continue the South African dominance of this event.

Challenge Tour grads

If the way this season has started is any indication, a rookie victory on tour in 2017 could be on the cards.

Jordan Smith, the man who finished top of the Road to Oman Rankings, is the man leading the charge from the 2016 crop of European Challenge Tour graduates. In seven starts this season, he’s claimed two top sixes and two other top 25s. A third-place finish at the BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni was followed two weeks later by a share of sixth in Qatar. This could be another impressive week for the 24 year old.

Ryan Fox is another rookie who has been in contention on more than occasion this season. The New Zealander finished ninth at the Australian PGA Championship in December and missed out on a place in the Sunday match play at last week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth in a play-off. Thomas Detry and Alexander Björk have also made bright starts to their European Tour careers and will hope to be in the mix come Sunday in Johannesburg.

Two courses

One of the great challenges of any week on tour is learning the unique layout of each course. This week in Johannesburg, though, there will be double the information to take in with the traditional East and West courses in use.

Competitors will play one round on each course for the first two rounds in South Africa, before playing the former for the final two rounds.

Both courses underwent changes during the late 1990s and have had alterations since, culminating in a firm test for the men teeing it up this week.

 
Largest field of the year

There has never been a shortage of golf during the Joburg Open week, with 210 players aiming to come out on top in South Africa.

With the East and West courses in use, the customary increase in field size will mean the man who takes the trophy home will have certainly earned their prize.

There is also a qualifying event that takes place the day before the tournament gets under way, with 15 spots up for grabs in the field. There are 93 players trying to earn a late place in this year’s field at nearby Houghton Golf Club.

Weather

It’ll be fascinating to see how the field fares on the respective courses after significant rainfall earlier this week.

Around 140mm of rain fell over the course of Monday and Tuesday, which forced the cancellation of the Wednesday Pro-Am. However, play is expected to go ahead as planned, despite more rain expected throughout the rest of the week.