The 2023 Road to Mallorca season gets under way at Royal Cape Golf Club for this week’s Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open. Here’s three men to keep your eye on this week…
Form horse
Dylan Mostert arrives in the Mother City full of confidence, currently sitting in sixth place on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. The 24-year-old secured victory at the KitKat Group PROAM in June before an impressive finish to 2022 at the Joburg Open and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, events co-sanctioned between the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour, where he finished 18th and fourth respectively. Mostert will be looking to carry his strong form into 2023 as he prepares to tee it up in the first of four co-sanctioned events between the European Challenge Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Local Boy
Brandon Stone, a three-time DP World Tour winner, is relishing the chance to add to his impressive back catalogue in Cape Town this week. The South African earnt his DP World Tour card through the Challenge Tour in 2015 and went on to claim three victories on the top tier, including the prestigious Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open in 2018 after carding a sensational final round of 60 to win by four shots.
Stone, who won the 2015 Cape Town Open, will be able to use those positive memories as fuel for more success at Royal Cape Golf Club this week. The 29-year-old has proven his ability to win on home soil with victories at the 2016 BMW SA Open, 2016 Alfred Dunhill Championship and the 2021 Limpopo Championship, where he picked up his maiden Challenge Tour title.
The outsider
Jamie Rutherford will be looking to build on solid foundations put in place in 2022 after finishing 50th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings. The Englishman, who graduated from the PGA EuroPro Tour in 2021, recorded four top ten finishes on the Challenge Tour last season including a fifth place at the Italian Challenge Open in Rome.
The 30-year-old can also lean on fond memories at Royal Cape Golf Club after he finished in eighth place at the 2022 edition of the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open, recording rounds of 71-68-71-65 to finish on 13 under par.
