With the festive period a fading memory, this week will see a 67-strong local challenge dust off the cobwebs at Glendower Golf Club ahead of the latest instalment of the South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni.
Five-time champion Ernie Els, who first triumphed back in 1992, is certain to draw a large following at the venue located to the north east of Johannesburg, where he will also be joined by Major Champion Charl Schwartzel, who is yet to win his National Open.
Alongside their compatriots will also be former winners Retief Goosen (1995 and 2005), James Kingston (2007) and Richard Sterne (2008), while European Tour Champions Branden Grace and George Coetzee will both tee it up in search of a maiden win in this event.
Defending Champion Morten Ørum Madsen returns to Glendower in search of the form that saw him win by two from the South African pair of Jbe Kruger and Hennie Otto, who himself won this title back in 2011.
With just the one season and 28 European Tour events under his belt, Madsen captured his maiden title 13 months ago and with it became only the third Continental European to lift the second oldest Open championship in world golf.
This week also offers the perfect opportunity for those players who have graduated from the second tier, with eight Challenge Tour graduates set to tee it up at the tip of the African continent, including the likes of Sam Hutsby, Jordi Garcia Pinto and Jason Palmer, as well as local man Jake Roos.
Plenty of players who earned their place amongst The Race to Dubai elite at last year’s Qualifying School Final Stage will also be in attendance, with 21 players – including young guns Matthew Fitzpatrick and Renato Paratore – in the field and looking to make a fast start to life on The European Tour.
The South African Open Championship has been co-sanctioned by both The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour since 1997, in which time 12 home players have triumphed.
