Anton Karlsson clinched his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the RAM Cape Town Open after a blustery finish in the Mother City. Away from the winner’s circle, we catch up on all you might have missed from an unforgettable week in South Africa.
Europeans bounce back
After a week of South African domination at the Limpopo Championship, where homegrown players occupied seven of the top nine spots on the leaderboard, the Europeans were back in full force in Cape Town, underlined by Karlsson’s victory. Four South Africans recorded top tens this week, highlighting the strength of both The Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour, with local star JC Ritchie currently topping the Road to Mallorca Rankings after two events.
The week also proved fruitful for a crop of aspiring young English players, with Harry Ellis and Mitch Waite both recording the first top ten Challenge Tour finishes of their career. Meanwhile, Jordan Wrisdale notched his first top five finish, with compatriot Toby Tree making the most of his decision to skip his European Tour spot last week in favour of a trip to South Africa, after securing third place.
South African wonderkids
The South African pair of Garrick Higgo and Wilco Nienaber continued to demonstrate why they will be two to watch as they take the fledgling steps in their maiden Challenge Tour season. Higgo has already triumphed on The Sunshine Tour and the 20-year-old again highlighted his potential with a runner-up finish in Cape Town last week, carding a five under par final round of 67 in extremely tough scoring conditions. Meanwhile, long-hitting teenager Wilco Nienaber followed up second place at the Limpopo Championship with a top 15 finish in Cape Town to remain in the top three spots in the Rankings.
At home with Rhys Enoch
Rhys Enoch may be well-known back in his old stomping ground in Truro, Cornwall, but the Welshman has recently made Cape Town his home alongside his wife and young son. With Enoch capturing the 2018 RAM Cape Town Open title we thought it was the perfect time to catch up with him, and his family. Watch here:
At home with Rhys Enoch 👶@RhysEnoch1 #CapeTownOpen pic.twitter.com/Y4RqRxHTSh
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) February 6, 2020
John returns
Few players on the Challenge Tour have a story quite as remarkable as Allen John, who returned to Challenge Tour action last season after almost a decade’s absence. In that time the German exited the paid ranks, recorded a runner-up finish at Porsche European Open on the European Tour as an amateur, and won a Gold Medal at the Deaflympics.
John secured his Challenge Tour card for 2020 after finishing in the top five on the Pro Golf League and has continued that form on the ‘South African swing’, finishing in a tie for seventh in Cape Town. Read more about his story here.
