The European Tour returns from the holiday break and begins a new decade at the South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg. Here are five facts to help you get back into the swing of things.
Historic national Open
The South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg, which was first played in 1893, is the second oldest national Open in all of golf — only The Open Championship pre-dates it. The tournament officially became part of the European Tour International Schedule in 1997, when Vijay Singh collected his seventh of 13 European Tour wins.
Home heroes
Since it became a European Tour event there have been 23 editions of the South African Open. The tournament has been won by South Africans an astounding 13 times during that period. Major Champions Louis Oosthuizen, Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and Retief Goosen have all claimed the title at least once, while home stars Tim Clark, Brandon Stone, James Kingston, Richard Sterne and David Frost have also lifted the trophy in the tournament co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. For almost a decade, South African players kept the crown on home-soil, winning eight consecutive editions of the tournament between 2002 and 2008.
Kingston is the man
The oldest competitor in the field, Kingston, is also the proud owner of a rare double in South African golf. Having won the South African Open in 2007, the 53-year-old recently collected the Senior SA Open title in style — winning by nine shots for his first victory in the over-50s rank last October. Kingston, who is a star on the Staysure Tour having finished in second on the 2019 Order of Merit, is still a long hitter by any measure, and with both experience and confidence on his side, he could easily be a factor in this week’s event.
Defending Champion
Home star Oosthuizen returns to the South African Open to defend his title, which kick-started a strong campaign in 2019 where he collected a pair of top fives in World Golf Championships events, plus four additional top fives, all of which moved him back into the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In his most recent start, at the Emirates Australian Open, the Mossel Bay native finished as the runner-up before earning 2.5 points for an International side who narrowly lost to the United States at the President’s Cup.
Open Qualifying
The South African Open is once again part of the Open Qualifying Series, which takes place over 16 events in 11 countries and across five continents. The leading three players in the top ten, who are not already exempt, will earn their place in the field for the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club.
Randpark Golf Club, which hosted the event last year, will host the national Open for the fourth time, and the first time since 2000. Competitors will play both the Firethorn and Bushwillow courses over the first two rounds, before the cut sends the surviving players to Firethorn for the weekend.
