Cape Town will host the finest young stars from both the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour in this week’s Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open which is the second of a run of seven co-sanctioned tournaments, with last week's Dimension Data Pro-Am Champion Alexander Knappe declaring these events as a real gamechanger for their careers.
Knappe, who earned victory last week thanks to four bogey-free rounds, forms part of a strong field gathered at both Royal Cape Golf Club and Rondebosch Golf Club this week.
There are six former champions in the field this week including defending champion JC Ritchie as well as Jaco Ahlers, Rhys Enoch, Jake Roos, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Anton Karlsson.
The German seized the opportunity at Fancourt Golf Estate last week and is grateful to both Tours for co-sanctioning the strong run of events in Africa to start the Road to Mallorca season.
“These seven tournaments in Africa to start our season with are really important. We would usually start in May, and that is half a year off if we didn’t have these tournaments with the Sunshine Tour,” said Knappe.
“We’re grateful to the Sunshine Tour for co-sanctioning these tournaments with the Challenge Tour and putting up such great tournaments. The golf courses here are always great and the tournaments are so well run. And most importantly, it keeps us playing because we have a long season with a great schedule and increased prize money. It means a lot to us as players.”
The Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open celebrates its tenth anniversary this week, marking a decade of the city of Cape Town’s proud support of international golf on local fairways, with the Challenge Tour having co-sanctioned the last two editions of the event.
Kavir Gangiah, Distell Group Media, Sponsorship and Events Lead for Southern Africa, said: “Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky is expertly crafted in South Africa and celebrated internationally for its fresh approach on traditional whisky making, which has included winning the world’s best single grain whisky twice in the last decade. Similarly, we are proud to support a tournament in Cape Town that resonates with a global audience. Opportunity is a key ingredient to success and we’re delighted to support both the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour players with yet another opportunity to develop their careers."