The European Tour arrives in Pretoria this week for the second half of a fortnight in South Africa. Here we give you the full brief on the fourth African event of the season, the Tshwane Open.
REWIND
Masters Tournament champion Charl Schwartzel cruised to a comprehensive eight-shot victory at Pretoria Country Club last year.
The home favourite oozed Major-winning class all week, sealing his second victory of the season with a sensational seven under par final round of 63.
The then 31 year old, who has won eight of his 11 European Tour titles on South African soil, made the most of home comforts once again to finish on 16 under par overall – eight ahead of Denmark’s Jeff Winther who took second place.
But after opening rounds of 71-64-66, the Johannesburger felt he could have gone even lower. “In the first three rounds I gave myself so many chances,” he said after his victory. “If I had the stroke I had today all week, it probably would have been my best tournament ever.”
BITE-SIZED HISTORY
First played in 2013, the inaugural Tshwane Open was won by Paarl-born Dawie van der Walt, who shot four rounds in the 60s to seal his maiden European Tour title in style – finishing two clear of fellow countryman and 2017 Joburg Open champion Darren Fichardt.
Following van der Walt’s win, the event has proved fruitful for local golfers, with two of the three following winners hailing from South Africa.
England’s Ross Fisher fought off challenges from Michael Hoey and Danie van Tonder to triumph in 2014, George Coetzee edged out compatriot Jacques Blaauw by one shot in 2015, before Schwartzel obliterated the rest of the field to win in 2016.
THE FIELD
Cape Town native Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, headlines a strong contingent of South African golfers.
Two-time European Tour winner James Kingston and Coetzee, the 2015 champion, are both in the field this week, as is Pretoria-born Fichardt, who is looking to make it back-to-back wins after his triumph in the Joburg Open.
Another leading home contender is Dean Burmester. After narrowly failing to gain a card at European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage in 2016, he has made a bright start to 2017. The 27 year old has recorded a top five, a top ten and a tied 11thfinish in the three South African events so far this season, and will be in confident mood when he tees it up in his homeland.
The 2016 Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke is joined by 2014 Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson in Pretoria, as well as 2016 EURASIA CUP player and two-time European Tour winner Ashun Wu.
Reigning European Challenge Tour Number One Jordan Smith, who currently sits in 20thplace in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, is one of the 16 Challenge Tour graduates who will be competing this week, as the full class of 2016 play for the third time this season in the same event.
THE COURSE
Opened in 1910, Pretoria Country Club is famed for its scenic beauty. Set in the picturesque Waterkloof, the Bob Grimsdell-designed course, which was re-designed by Gary Player in 2004, will pose a tough test for the European Tour’s finest.
The pristine environment of Pretoria Country Club attracts a number of exotic bird species to the area, while chestnut and maple trees line its fabled fairways.
The club boasts a single championship course, which has a par of 71 and is 7081 yards long. After taking over from Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate as the host of the Tshwane Open in 2015, Pretoria Country Club has held two editions of the tournament – both won by South Africans.
DID YOU KNOW?
· The Tshwane Open is the fourth and final event of the 2017 European Tour season to be co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. Overall South Africa is hosting five tournaments during this year’s schedule, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, being the other, forming part of the Rolex Final Series.
· With his 2015 Tshwane Open triumph, Coetzee became the first South African to win his first two European Tour titles on home soil since van der Walt (2013 Tshwane Open and 2014 Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS HANDA). Coetzee’s first success was the 2014 Joburg Open.
· Coetzee won the 2015 Tshwane Open at Pretoria Country Club, the club where he is attached to. He was the first player to win a European Tour event on a course where they are attached to when the event was played there, since Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard won the 2008 CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azaha at the Club de Golf del Mediterraneo.
· South Africa will look to continue their success in the Tshwane Open. Players from that country have won three of the four editions of the event. They are: van der Walt (2013), Coetzee (2015) and Schwartzel (2016).
· Pretoria Country Club was used for the first time in European Tour competition in the 2015 Tshwane Open. This was the first time Pretoria staged a European Tour event, co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour.
