James Kingston believes partnerships such as the one formed by the European Challenge Tour and the Sunshine Tour is beneficial for the future health of South African golf.
The two Tours have come together to co-sanction this week’s Limpopo Championship and the following two events, the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open and the Dimension Data Pro-Am, as they did last year, with fields split equally between the South African and European contingents.
Kingston, who tees it up this week and has two European Tour titles, four Asian Tour wins and 11 Sunshine Tour triumphs to his name in a career spanning more than three decades, has seen the evolution of South African golf first-hand and believes the next crop of stars will reap the rewards of years of hard work.
“The talent we have on the Sunshine Tour is unbelievable,” he said. “It’s because of a lot of people. You take what Mr Rupert has done for this Tour over a number of years, Selwyn Nathan, they’ve given the guys an opportunity to play and a Tour that’s competitive with something to play for.
“That’s why we see all these good young players. Give South Africa another five to eight years and you’ll see a lot of good players out there on the world stage competing. Not just normal names. There are a lot of good players out here who will make a name for themselves over a number of years.
“The nice thing that these guys have organised, and Thomas Abt in his new role, putting deals like these together for the guys it gives them something to play for.
“If a guy wins this week, all of a sudden he has an opportunity to play on the Challenge Tour and if he plays well enough there and finishes in the top 20, he gains a European Tour card. Every week is a life-changing opportunity. If he plays well, the world opens up to him.”
The 55-year-old would normally be found teeing it up on the Legends Tour, but has spent more time than he usually would in his homeland over the last 12 months.
Earlier this month, he successfully defended his SA Senior Open title at Plettenberg Bay Country Club and is ready to test his game against the next crop of future stars this week.
“If I look back at the last three or four weeks and the end of last season, I feel like I played really solid golf,” he said. “Because of the youngsters, you stand on the practice tee and they hit it a long way, it gets you to have a go at it. It gets the juices flowing and helps me be competitive.
“Having played well the last few weeks, it helped at Plettenberg Bay where I was playing with people my age again and all of a sudden I was a slightly longer hitter.
“From a competitive point of view it helps me keep my game at a good level and stops me coming stagnant. It will help me on the senior season which will start in a few weeks.”
Kingston will begin his Limpopo Championship at 12:30pm local time alongside countryman Bryce Easton and Sweden’s Christopher Blomstrand.
