This week the European Tour is back in South Africa for the third time this season. Here we bring you five intriguing storylines from the Tshwane Open.
1) South African dominance
Since the inaugural staging of the Tshwane Open in 2013, home grown talent has excelled in the tournament, with players from the Rainbow Nation winning four of the five events: Dawie van der Walt (2013), George Coetzee (2015), Charl Schwartzel (2016) and Dean Burmester (2017).
Likely to be leading the home charge this week is Erik van Rooyen. The 28 year old finished as a runner-up and 20thin the two previous South African events this season, and has the highest ranking of any home grown player in the Race to Dubai who is competing this week (29th).
2) Consistent Kinhult
Fresh from a career-best finish in Qatar, Marcus Kinhult will be one to watch this week. The Swede, who graduated from the European Challenge Tour in 2017, has made an excellent start to life on the European Tour and seems to finding his feet at the highest level.
Following a third-place finish in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, the 21 year old has missed just three cuts in his previous 26 starts and has finished no lower than 16thin his last three European Tour appearances – including a share of 12ththe last time he was on South African soil, at the BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni.
Such consistency has taken the promising talent up to 26thin the Race to Dubai, and with another good performance this week he could play his way into the top 20 – and beyond.
3) Bring your snorkel Haydn…
Two years ago Haydn Porteous really put the water into Waterkloof. During his first round at Pretoria Country Club, Porteous made a splash when he hit an approach shot precariously short of a water hazard on the fourth hole.
The young South African was forced to take off his shoes, roll up his trousers and remove his shirt before playing out of the difficult spot.
Although the two-time European Tour winner struggled to get out of the tricky lie – he went on to make double bogey – Porteous did birdie four of his final five holes to card a level par opening round.
4) Wonderful Waterkloof
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 three editions of the tournament – all won by South Africans.
5) The perfect finish
Three years ago Morten Ørum Madsen enjoyed a dream finish to his first round at Pretoria Country Club.
The Dane, who won his only European Tour title to date in South Africa in 2013, followed up a hole-in-one at the par three eighth by making an eagle at the par five ninth to pick up four shots over two holes – some finish indeed.
